U.S. FALLS TO BRAZIL BRAZIL 2, UNITED STATES 1.

Byline: Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer

PASADENA - With a pair of teen-agers named Landon Donovan and Bobby Convey, and 24-year-old Clint Mathis making his case to replace Claudio Reyna as the team's playmaker, the mostly MLS-riddled American soccer team gave the world's top-ranked team all it could handle in front of 45,387 at the Rose Bowl.

The majority of starters who helped the United States beat Mexico 2-0 in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, were back with their European clubs, but Brazil could do no better than a 2-1 victory over a young American team in Saturday's exhibition - which was the sixth consecutive time a match between these two countries has been decided by a goal or less. Brazil leads the overall series with the United States, 8-1

Why, a reporter asked U.S coach Bruce Arena, does Brazil have so many problems with the United States? Why is it so difficult for them?

``What would you expect it to be?'' Arena asked back with no response. ``We're not stepping on the field to be a punching bag for Brazil. We're there to compete and give them a hard game.''

Should anyone be surprised anymore? If the United States can throw its ``B'' team against a star-studded Brazilian team and walk away with a competitive result, that shows tremendous progress.

``The U.S. is at the level of other national teams throughout the world,'' said Brazil's Romario, the MVP of the 1994 World Cup champions. ``They deserve respect.''

With the score tied 1-1, Brazil's Silvinho received a give-and-go from Roque Junior and sped toward the end-line to the left of the Americans' net. Goalkeeper Tony Meola came out to make a play, but Silvinho dribbled past Meola and hurried a pass in front of the net for Euller, who beat three Americans to the ball for an easy tap-in and the game-winner.

With the Americans controlling most of the flow of play in the first half, D.C. United midfielder Richie Williams was whistled for a foul trying to slow down 20-year-old Ronaldinho, whose emergence during Brazil's winning performance in the 1999 Copa America made him an instant hit as one of Brazil's newest and most coveted strikers.

Ronaldinho showed why a few minutes later, bending a 23-yard shot inside the left goalpost to give Brazil a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.

The Americans' effort was finally rewarded in the 40th minute when former Galaxy midfielder Chris Armas slipped a beautiful pass into space as Mathis ran past three Brazilian defenders along the right side. From a difficult angle, Mathis fired a right-footed shot that found its way past Brazilian goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni to the far side of the net to tie the match 1-1 at the half.

That goal and Mathis' performance earned praise from Brazilian coach Emerson Leao.

``One player that impressed me the most, not only for his physical, but for his playing, capacity and technical ability was No. 5, Mr. Clint Mathis,'' said Leao.

Mathis, traded to New York/New Jersey by the Galaxy to make room for Luis Hernandez last season, said confidence has made this team believe it can play with anyone.

``You look at the players you're playing against, Cafu, Emerson and those guys,'' Mathis said. ``They're playing with the top teams in the world and if you're able to get on the field and compete with them and give them a run for their money, that says a lot about yourself and U.S. soccer's ability to compete.''

Donovan, an 18-year-old from Redlands, appeared a little shaky in his fourth full international start, but his 17-year-old counterpart, Convey, created havoc along the left flank.

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Photo: Brazil's Euller celebrates his game-winning goal as Landon Donovan of the U.S. team looks on.

Nick Ut/Associated Press