Reaction from the U.S. camp after ugly loss to Czechs

	DaMarcus Beasley was wholly ineffective in a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic. Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
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BERLIN -- We're 14 games into World Cup '06, and the U.S. still has the distinction of owning the tournament's most lopsided loss, Monday's humiliating 3-0 blowout against the Czech Republic. I was on an insane magazine deadline and didn't get a chance to chime in here ... until now. With a must-win game coming against Italy on Saturday, here's what's on the minds of those in the know around the U.S. camp in Hamburg:

• What is up with DaMarcus Beasley? For the past month the SI cover boy has been a shadow of the relentless 20-year-old who was so dangerous against Portugal in the first game of World Cup '02. Unable to beat anyone on the dribble, Beasley is hampered even more by his placement on the right side, where he's unable to deliver a cross with his right foot.

Yet the most surprising aspect of Beasley's slide has been the way his frustration has bubbled over into biting criticisms of U.S. coach Bruce Arena in the media. A year ago Arena was telling anyone who would listen that Beasley was "our best player." Not long after the U.S. arrived in Germany, however, Beasley began the fireworks by saying he was "irritated" by Arena's unwillingness to reveal his lineup to the team until just before game time. (Arena told me he spoke privately with Beasley about that incident, after which Beasley wasn't made available to the media in the five days before the Czech game.)

Still, Arena decided to stick with Beasley as a starter on Monday, hoping that he could get behind Czech left back Marek Jankulovski while neutralizing the Janky Man's runs on the left side. "Beasley's not in the best form," Arena told me a few days before the game, "but he's a tough bastard in big games."

After Beasley was invisible for almost all of Monday's loss, Arena was blunt in the postgame press conference: "We got nothing out of Beasley." But unlike the other players Arena criticized by name, Beasley zapped right back. "I was back there defending the whole time," Beasley said. "I don't know what he wants me to do." After the U.S. switched to a 3-5-2 formation in the second half, Beasley said, "I was always defending the whole time. That's how the game went. Next time I'll leave the guy and play as a striker instead of a midfielder and then we'll see what happens."

I doubt Beasley is in any danger of getting sent home for his comments, but Arena said on Tuesday that he would probably sit down with Beasley again in the near future. A year after Arena hailed him as his best player, it's highly doubtful that Beasley will be in the lineup against Italy on Saturday.