Donovan down beat

Despite a solid performance in the international friendly at Soldier Field, Donovan knows more important fixtures lie ahead with next month's World Cup qualifiers on the horizon against Costa Rica and Panama but he was still frustrated.

"I don't know if we were lackadaisical or maybe just a bit scared of them (England)," he said. "We didn't start the game well and if it's a friendly or a qualifier, it doesn't matter, you have to start well."

A less than full-strength U.S. side lacked enough cohesion throughout the first half, not to mention grit and guile, and was outplayed by a team with technical astuteness and speed.

England won with a double by debutant Kieran Richardson, the first a magnificent free kick in the fourth minute, the second just before the break when he slammed home a pass from Joe Cole 15 metres out after taking full advantage of a flat defence.

"A few of us gave them too much respect," said Donovan when asked if he felt his team mates were in awe of their opponents. That is a team we should have beaten in my opinion.

"They were not anywhere near a clear and better team than us. The only difference was they put their chances away."

Donovan fired a free kick off the bar after nine minutes and saw a chance flash wide of the left-hand post in the 38th.

US coach Bruce Arena, missing a handful of regular players through injury and other circumstances, said the match will benefit his squad, which faces Costa Rica on Saturday in a CONCACAF region World Cup qualifier in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"We haven't had the team together for two months," said Arena. "This was a great way for us to get some competition and the England team certainly got our attention."

England dominated much of the opening half but, perhaps comfortable with their 2-0 lead, gave the U.S. more possession in the final 20 minutes and Clint Dempsey got them on the scoresheet with a header 11 minutes from time.

"I think this was a lesson well learned, especially for our younger players," said Arena. "We showed a lot of character, especially in the second half -- we could have really embarrassed ourselves after going down 2-0."

Donovan predicts a slower pace against Costa Rica on June 4 before an away clash with Panama fiour days later.

"That's a game we need to win," he said. "I can't imagine the Costa Ricans are going to play at the same tempo, so I have no doubt we'll be able to deal with them more easily."

Arena said he will have defenders Frankie Hejduk and Oguchi Onyewu available for Saturday's match along with midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Cobi Jones plus forward Pat Noonan.

The U.S. are second in the six-nation qualifying group with six points from three games, one behind leaders Mexico and two ahead of Costa Rica and Guatemala. Panama (two points) andTrinidad and Tobago (one) round out the group.

The top three countries gain an automatic berth to the World Cup finals in Germany next year.