David Beckham almost had an aura about him, and beamed from ear to ear, as he spoke to the press afterwards. The returning hero had just enjoyed a dream homecoming in London.

Cheered by the whole stadium as Sir Bobby Charlton handed him a golden cap to mark his 100 appearances, Beckham responded by putting in 45 minutes of work so impressive, he has surely cemented his England place for the foreseeable future.

Becks' smiles and those of the other England players were mirrored by the glum faces of the Americans, exiting stage left. Another LA Galaxy player, Landon Donovan, had been due to "turn 100" at Wembley on Wednesday, but sat out injured while the night belonged to the hosts.

Few had seriously expected an American win at Wembley, but defeat always bites and any player worth his salt hates losing any game.

The faces on some of the US players traipsing out of the dressing rooms yesterday spoke volumes of regret. Steve Cherundolo was disconsolate, Michael Bradley looked wounded and even Jay DeMerit was very down at having missed the defeat.

The old vets Frankie Hejduk and Eddie Lewis left more upbeat, enjoying every moment of what was probably their first and last time at the great arena.

It was not too hard either to coax a smile out of Freddy Adu, while Eddie Johnson admitted how much he was enjoying his whole London experience, defeat or no.

It was a grand occasion in front of a big audience, despite 77,222 being the Three Lions' lowest crowd yet at the new Wembley.

The 1,300 US fans still had a good time on a bad day, privileged to witness the first American soccer visit to London for 14 years.

Alas, the evening's events on grass reminded us we still have a long way to go before we can challenge for the World Cup.

England did not make it to the last 16 of Europe this summer, but were still comfortable victors.

The US took the game seriously enough, as evinced by their pre-game huddle while England jogged around waiting for them.

Yet Fabio Capello would not have swapped any of his men for their US counterparts last night, with the possible exception of Tim Howard instead of David James, or DaMarcus Beasley or Clint Dempsey for the hit-and-miss Frank Lampard.

The gap in class looked scary in midfield. Beckham, Owen Hargreaves, Steven Gerrard and Lampard versus Beasley Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark and Dempsey was not a fair fight.

Up front, Wayne Rooney was not on fire, but still posed far more of a threat with Jermain Defoe than Johnson and Josh Wolff did for the US.

The two US goalkeepers played well and the American back four performed admirably given the opposition's hunger, but still need to tighten up their marking at set pieces.

John Terry's bullet header for the first goal looked to be a peach at first view, before replays showed the nearest US defender, Carlos Bocanegra, a good two yards away.

Less could be done about Gerrard's goal. Liberated from the left side after Gareth Barry was introduced, the Liverpool talisman is often deadly as he roams around the area 25 yards from goal, before launching buccaneering charges at the opponents' flag.

England were at home and played well, let us not forget. Capello is one of the world's top coaches and was desperate to prove himself after two humdrum outings. But the US' comparative lack of strength in depth was laid bare. And this from a starting eleven with vast European experience, six of them in England's Premier League.

The US looked unable to grab control of the proceedings and exert any sustained pressure on England, which is a little worrying.

US Soccer had arrived in London buoyed by wins in Switzerland and Poland, but left reminded of the years of feeling second best.

"When you win a game like that (v Poland)", Bob Bradley said, "It does not mean you have arrived. When you raise the bar a little bit, and I think England raised the bar tonight, we learned we have some way to go."

A road that had opened up and seemed to be beckoning the way to a serious World Cup challenge by 2014, now looks at least another tournament away.

Scouring the English press this morning, it was a challenge finding any opinions on the US display.

John Terry's emotional week of losing the Champions League final and scoring against the USA dominated the match reports, some of which made no mention of the US at all.

For those that did, only a dismissive sentence or two was deemed necessary. You can't really blame them as the US were clearly second best in all areas, but the lack of creative spark in the final third to put England on the back foot was a failure the States must address.

After all the hard work since our last visit in 1994, the US is once more considered a developing nation in the home of football.

THE ENGLISH PRESS VERDICT
"The United States' major mistake was giving away dangerous free-kicks around their penalty area and, eventually it was Beckham who unlocked the visitors' defence..Yes, the marking was poor, so poor that it was unclear exactly who should have been picking him up." - Sam Wallace, Independent

"England beat a tame USA with ease, but there was not much to take from such a pedestrian encounter. England beat the USA by being competent and eager where their opponents lacked any real drive or quality beyond a scuttling, swarming defense…The exercise was undermined by just how poor the USA turned out to be. Before kick-off they looked up for it. Their coach Bob Bradley has a furiously belligerent glare. His team hunkered down in a bobbing huddle while England stood about looking nonplussed. The Americans came here seeking respect. And they can certainly run and chivvy and defend with vigour. Even if when they came forward they played like a man fumbling for the light switch in the dark." - Barney Ronay, Guardian

"The United States were quite durable in open play and it took a Beckham set piece to highlight their weaknesses." - Kevin McCarra, Guardian

"It's a decent test for England," John Motson said of a United States team containing a player released by Fulham, and another who plays for Reading. Then again, the US, too, didn't qualify for Euro 2008, albeit on a geographical technicality rather than through straightforward mismanagement. In any case, the names of the great legends of American soccer always trip off the tongue: Pelé, Rodney Marsh, David Beckham. In what was an exciting set of preliminaries all round, the Star Spangled Banner became the first impeccably observed anthem of a visiting team in the modern era. In the absence of whistles and jeers, it was spoiled by a faulty microphone, though, so tradition was restored." - Giles Smith, Times

"The Americans' football was poor as England slowly but surely took control of this game." - David Woods, Daily Star

"Not a classic, but England dominated a very ordinary USA team. The USA side are a pale imitation of the teams that have overachieved in recent World Cups. Expect their fans to sing "Bring back Bruce [Arena]" in the second half. Remarkably, 1,300 away fans have made the trip over the pond. Great effort." - Times Online

"England were solid. Certainly strong enough to overcome an awful American side." - Matt Lawton, Daily Mail

"The USA were a major disappointment; an admittedly anemic USA side." - Duncan MacLay, Daily Express