"The last time it was more I could be the kid and just help out where I could," he said. "Now there's a lot more dependance on me to perform consistently."

After the Czech loss, Arena took a volley at Donovan that was harder than any American shot during the game.

"Landon showed no aggressiveness tonight," the coach said.

Donovan spoke with many people in the next few days, including Arena, assistant coaches and Frankie Hejduk, who was on the World Cup roster before he injured a knee.

"Or they talked to me, I should say," Donovan corrected himself. "It was pretty clear what the message was: Be more aggressive, and you're good enough to play at this level."

With his fakes, sudden bursts and runs, the Californian can take over a game, whether he's at forward or midfield. Against the Czechs, he couldn't find any space.

"It was frustrating because I knew I took a lot of heat for the Czech game," Donovan said. "But I didn't feel like I played terribly. I just didn't get enough of the ball. And part of that is me, and part of that is not getting the ball, part of it is it's not bouncing the right way. And those are all things that happened."

Donovan was more energized against the Italians, especially with the open patches of green in the second half following the ejections of three players. He fed McBride for what nearly was a go-ahead goal in the 63rd minute, and pressed the Azzurri with counters.

After all the running around, the four days off between games seems short.

"I felt very tired yesterday, but I didn't do a whole lot, just kind of sat around, went in the cold pool and just tried to get your legs going," he said. "I actually felt a lot better today, so I'm moving along, on pace."