BRUCE ARENA, U.S. Coach
''I thought it was a good game. I was pleased with our team's effort for the second half. Not that it was a bad effort in the first half, but I think the English team did an outstanding job for 45 minutes in the first half with their concentration and their ability to hang in on every play and make a difference. Their two goals they scored were opportunistic and intelligent plays. I told our guys at the end of the game that players like Alan Smith and Joe Cole, you appreciate them a lot more when you are on the field with them and see the plays they pull off for their team.''
''Overall a good experience and I hope it was a good show for people in the stands. I think it was positive for the game in this country to bring such a good team in here and have a good game.''
On playing England:
''I thought Alan Smith was absolutely outstanding in the first half, keeping balls alive for his team. It makes a difference in a hard-fought game and I think there is a lesson well learned for our domestic players that aren't in the kind of game that the English players are in week-in and week-out. It was a good experience for some our young guys like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, etc. So, I think that was a plus.''
On coming back in the second half:
''The guys showed great character in the second half because they could have really embarrassed themselves and they hung in there, they showed some pride and they fought. They were in there until the end and that's what I want to see out of them. Going down 2-0 is likely that the second half could be real difficult and they came back and did a good job.''
On Josh Wolff:
''I thought Josh did well. I told him after the game that he was in position to make the last pass or have a better look at the goal in the technical aspect. He was a bit of a handful à Josh showed today that he's a guy we've got to keep in consideration.''
CLINT DEMPSEY, U.S. midfielder
On his goal:
ôIt was just a rebound and I just tried to put it on goal. I was lucky enough to win it. It feels good.ö
On playing England:
ôIt was a great experience. They have a lot of players in the EPL and it was a good game for some of our players to gauge where we were. We came out a little tentative, but we had a lot of spurts of good play. We played well at times and put them on their heels a little bit in the second half trying to get the equalizer. It was a fun game for us, but it was just a game to sharpen us up for the qualifiers and thatÆs the most important thing right now û qualifying for the World Cup.ö
On facing Costa Rica in the upcoming qualifier:
ôI really havenÆt gotten to see them play that much. WeÆve just been taking it one game at a time. This week we prepared for England, this up coming week we will prepare for Costa Rica.ö
On their chances to advance to the World Cup:
ôRight now, we are in a good spot. If we get these two wins, we will be sitting nice and that will take a little bit of the pressure off of us in qualifying. So, hopefully we can do it.ö
LANDON DONOVAN, U.S. midfielder
On the game:
ôIt was very fast. We played very well for 70-80 minutes, but they had chances that they scored on and we didnÆt. It was a good game and now we can prepare for Costa Rica next week.ö
On pressuring them in the second half:
ôWhen you are losing 2-0, you have to be more aggressive. I wish that we would have started the game like that and not just the second half. It was good, but it wasnÆt enough.ö
JOSH WOLFF, U.S. forward
On his role on the team:
''As long as IÆve been healthy the last five years, IÆve fit in with the national team. That doesnÆt mean youÆre playing every day, but when you get your chances, you have to show well and show that you belong. Today was a day when I was pretty happy with it, but then again IÆd like to score some goals, thatÆs what youÆre supposed to do.''
On the final touch letting him and his teammates down today as opposed to England:
''Yeah sometimes, being around the goal and having some patience. England didnÆt have many opportunities but they made them count. I think in the end, thatÆs something that Bruce will definitely bring to our attention.''
On playing with some of the big names in English soccer:
''The idea is that weÆre competing against some of the best in the world and we belong on the field with them. We need to take the proper mind set and not be as intimidated, and I think we had a little bit of that early on, but as the game went on, I think we did a little better. TheyÆre soccer players, they put their shoes on, they play on the same field, and youÆve just got to get on with it. ItÆs an opportunity to play against some good players. In the end, we did pretty well.''
On comparing the strikers from this team versus those in the last World Cup:
''If you look back at the last World Cup and you had [Brian] McBride, Landon Donovan, myself, Clint Mathis, Joe Max Moore, those are still good strikers. Some newer faces IÆd say maybe, but the depth is coming à Obviously, domestically our forwards have been pretty strong. Competition makes your team better and thatÆs something Bruce emphasizes every day. ItÆs a work in progress, and you want to put yourself in a good spot for Æ06.''
On the two teams not playing with their full compliment of players:
''ItÆs hard to say if we had our full compliment of guys what the game would have looked like, just like they would say that they didnÆt have all their guys. In the end, itÆs about the personnel that you have on the field on that day, and I think we did enough to get a better result than we did. In the end, they finished their chances and did better than we did.''
On being disappointed in not being able to capitalize on the youth of EnglandÆs lineup today:
''Absolutely. If you look at the numbers, we probably had the better of the opportunities and obviously the better of the play in the second half. We just didnÆt take care of it in the final third [of the field]. Again, IÆd say these guys [England], the atmosphere and the pressure theyÆre under every week maybe helps them be a little more collected in front of goal. They showed some pretty savvy finishing in the end.''
On not being injured:
''IÆd never wish it upon anyone but it does happen and you have to deal with it when it comes. Like I said about not getting too low in the lows and high in the highs. They [injuries] can come at any time, so be grateful and try to make the most of your opportunities because in a flash it could be put on hold.''