WASHINGTON – David Beckham’s Major League Soccer debut must have felt just like home.

In a downpour that made the RFK Stadium field resemble a soggy ground back in England, Beckham played the final 21 minutes in the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 1-0 loss to D.C. United on Thursday night.

Beckham joined the Galaxy last month but his left ankle, healing from a June injury, had limited him to one exhibition game.

“It felt a lot better tonight than it has for a while,” he said. “It’s difficult after eight weeks doing hardly anything, but I was happy to be back on the field tonight.”

The crowd roared and flashbulbs popped every time the 32-year-old English midfielder touched the ball, but he wasn’t able to make much of an impact for a Galaxy team that was shut out for the second straight game and is 3-6-5, the second-poorest record in the league.

“We have to look forward to the next game and work hard because it’s a process that we have to get right,” he said. “And we will, because we’ve got a lot of talent in this team. It’s just about getting it onto the pitch and proving it to people.”

Beckham, the former captain of England’s national team. did get one free kick, but it from 40 yards out – too far to “Bend It Like Beckham” and into the goal. He served it into the penalty area, where Carlos Pavon headed the ball over the crossbar.

Beckham also played a pass half the length of the field to American star Landon Donovan, who tripped over goalkeeper Troy Perkins at the corner of the penalty area. Beckham raised both arms, angry that a foul wasn’t called. And two minutes into injury time, he lofted a ball for Pavon into the area.

The sellout crowd of 46,686 cheered when Beckham stripped off his warmup jacket and T-shirt, displaying his bare chest in a steady rain as he prepared to enter. The three-time World Cup veteran, his hair closely cropped and stubble on his face, then put on his No. 23 jersey and replaced Quavas Kirk in the 72nd minute.

Looking on was England coach Steve McClaren, who is interested in Beckham’s status for an Aug. 22 exhibition against Germany and European Championship qualifiers against Israel on Sept. 8 and Russia four days later.

Beckham’s appearance was the latest milestone in his move to the United States, a signing that has created unprecedented publicity for a league that hopes to elevate itself above niche status in a crowded sports landscape.

The game’s only goal was scored by Luciano Emilio in the 27th minute, his league-leading 13th. The Galaxy finished a man short after midfielder Kyle Martino was ejected for a hard tackle on Fred in the 67th minute.

Beckham’s debut had been delayed by the sprained ankle, sustained while playing for England on June 6 and aggravated in his Real Madrid finale 11 days later. Since joining the Galaxy, he had made only a 16-minute appearance as a substitute against England’s Chelsea.

Beckham had left fans disappointed by missing all three of the Galaxy’s SuperLiga games as well as Sunday’s scoreless MLS draw at Toronto.

Beckham emerged from the home baseball dugout at RFK Stadium shortly before kickoff, waved a few times to the crowd, then took his seat on the bench. He was also the only Galaxy substitute to wear his warmup jacket on the bench, despite the oppressive August humidity.

The crowd roared with approval when Beckham got off the bench and began warming up in the 36th minute. He skipped, stretched and ran light sprints along the sideline for the rest of the first half, even as a brief, light rain began to fall. The rain returned and became heavy in the second half, but that didn’t deter Beckham from continuing his warmups.

The crowd was the fourth largest to watch an MLS game at RFK, and more than twice United’s previous largest home draw this year. Tailgaters took their spots in the parking lots several hours before kickoff, and a group of United fans – known to sing loud and long during every match – hung a huge banner that read “We sing better than your wife,” a reference to Beckham’s pop-singing wife, Victoria.

It marked the biggest debut for a foreign star in a U.S. soccer league since June 18, 1975, when Pele played his first North American Soccer League game for the Cosmos in a 2-0 victory over Toronto at Downing Stadium on Randalls Island. Two days earlier, Pele had made his first Cosmos appearance in a home exhibition against Dallas.

Pele retired in October 1977, having boosted soccer’s profile in the United States. But despite briefly enjoying popularity with Frank Beckenbauer, Johan Cryuff, George Best and Giorgio Chinaglia, the NASL folded after the 1984 season.

Boosted by the 1994 World Cup in the United States, MLS launched in 1996 and the level of play has risen steadily. But despite aging foreign stars such as Lothar Matthaeus and Roberto Donadoni, it has lacked an inconic player.