By MATTIAS KAREN, AP
May 29, 2008
WEMBLEY, England - David Beckham stepped up to the ball and singled out his target, like so many times before at Wembley. If any Americans still were wondering, he showed what all the fuss back home was about.
Beckham sent a trademark curling free kick with laser precision toward John Terry for the go-ahead goal in the 38th minute, and England outclassed the United States 2-0 in an exhibition game at Wembley.
"That's my job, to get the ball into the right area," Beckham said. "It's J.T.'s job ... to be at the right end of it."
While England may not have been good enough to qualify for the 16-team European Championship next month, it easily dispatched the Americans on the world's most famous soccer field.
Steven Gerrard scored the second goal in the 59th minute off a through-ball from Gareth Barry that exposed the US defense. With 10 minutes to go, England's long-suffering fans were belting out choruses of "God Save the Queen."
The match drew 71,233, the lowest figure in any of England's eight games at the 90,000-capacity arena, which opened in 2007 following reconstruction.
The US, whose five-match unbeaten streak ended, dropped to 2-7 against the English, winning at the 1950 World Cup and in a 1993 exhibition game at Foxborough, Mass. This matchup came three years to the day after England's 2-1 win at Chicago's Soldier Field.
The US was coming off a 3-0 win at Poland - a team that did reach Euro 2008 - but ran into a much stronger opponent in the English. "You've raised the bar a little bit and I think we have to raise the bar ourselves," US coach Bob Bradley said. "We've got a ways to go."
Beckham was given a standing ovation before kickoff when he received a golden cap from English great Bobby Charlton in recognition of Beckham's 100th international appearance, in March against France.
