The U.S. was simply not up to what Doug McIntyre calls the "huge task" of taking on a team that included seven starters from last week's Champions League final. But in spite of the "predictable" 2-0 defeat, the "American players emerged from their plush dressing rooms ... looking as though they'd just dropped a vital World Cup qualifier to Barbados, at home."
 
"I just think we gave them too much respect," said DaMarcus Beasley. "We didn't impose ourselves on them." Landon Donovan said that while it would have been "nice" to win his one hundredth cap, he was more disappointed with the result. England midfielder Owen Hargreaves thought England could have scored more goals and would only say that the U.S. team had looked good on the tape of the 3-0 win at Poland. "We were expecting a tough game," he said, but they didn't get one.
 
Eddie Johnson was at least prepared to see a more positive side. "In training this week, we felt confident," he said. "We've come off some good results, but playing in the big stadiums against the great teams in Europe is tough. But it's a great learning experience for us."

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