By Will Kuhns in Washington, D.C.

With Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley free to roam the midfield, the U.S. men's national team shocked and obliterated Panama, 6-0, last night at RFK Stadium.

A greater audacity and flair than the U.S. team had shown to this point in qualifying was evident from the opening whistle. The U.S. attack fizzed with one-touch combination play all night and the two 22-year-olds were the catalysts. Partly because of Beasley's effectiveness in a central role during the latter stages against El Salvador and partly because of Panama's tactics in the teams' first meeting, U.S. coach Bruce Arena put two of his quickest, most creative players in the center of the field in a 4-4-2 alignment that essentially lacked a right-sided midfielder. Eddie Lewis prowled on the left flank, but he had no counterpart on the right side. Kerry Zavagnin backed up the two attacking midfielders and Frankie Hejduk positioned himself much deeper than he had against El Salvador, when he was a wide right midfielder in a 3-5-2.

''Down in Panama, they played with two holding midfielders and we just had one guy in there against them — [Clint] Mathis,'' Arena said. ''Even when we won the balls they were playing over the top, it went right back to those two. We wanted to put them under pressure from the get go.''

Beasley's early energy coupled with impatience for the referee to call fouls on Panama and he picked up an early yellow card. Soon after, he dribbled through a phalanx of defenders — as if to prove he didn't need the officialÆs help getting past the physical play. He fed Lewis, who spun on the ball to leave it for Brian McBride, but the shot was off target.

DonovanÆs cucumber-cool, near-post finish of Josh WolffÆs low centering feed in the 21st minute epitomized the teamÆs confidence on this night.

When Zavagnin found himself on the ball upfield in the 57th minute, he didnÆt bat an eye before zipping an outside of the foot pass to Donovan, who juked the goalkeeper and scored as he was tackled.

As Panama wilted, Ed Johnson became the first U.S. player to score a hat trick after coming off the bench and a last-minute own goal provided the sixth.

''[Donovan and Beasley] in the middle of the field, with their speed and the way they move the ball going forward — theyÆre a handful,'' Arena said. ''And Beasley wins a lot of balls. I donÆt know if some people realize that.''