Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN2
* Where: At Carlos Salazar Stadium (capacity: 10,000), Mazatenango, Guatemala.
* What: First of six regional World Cup qualifying games. The USA is in a group with Guatemala, Costa Rica and Barbados. Top two advance to a six-team final qualifying round next year that will decide the region's three World Cup berths.
* Why Mazatenango? The tropical weather plays a factor, but local fan support is stronger, too, says Fernando Lopez of the Guatemalan Football Federation. ''The people of Mazatenango are simply more footballish,'' he says.
* The U.S. lineup: Despite criticism for its sporadic offense, the U.S. attack has 18 goals in its 10 games this year. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller (Rayo Vallecano; Spain) leads the U.S. defense. His back line is up in the air, however, with veteran Jeff Agoos (minor knee surgery) out. Eddie Pope (D.C. United), Robin Fraser (Los Angeles Galaxy), Tony Sanneh (Hertha Berlin; Germany) and David Regis (F.C. Metz; France) are the likely starters. Inexperienced forward Ante Razov (Chicago Fire) gets a rare start with Brian McBride (broken cheekbone) out. The rest of the starting unit is familiar -- forward Cobi Jones (Los Angeles Galaxy), midfielders Eddie Lewis (Fulham; England), Claudio Reyna (Glasgow Rangers; Scotland), Chris Armas (Chicago Fire) and Earnie Stewart (NAC Breda; Netherlands).
* About Guatemala: Guatemala has never qualified for the World Cup and has put together a young team (average age 24) featuring many new faces. Its roster won't be announced until Saturday, but some of the players under consideration include Juan Carlos Plata, Guatemala's all-time leader in goals; strong defensive midfielder Juan Manuel Funes; and goalkeeper Edgar Eladio Esdra.
* U.S. World Cup qualifying schedule: Sunday at Guatemala; July 23 at Costa Rica (1 p.m. ET, ESPN2); Aug. 16 vs. Barbados at Foxboro, Mass.; Sept. 3 vs. Guatemala at Washington, D.C. (2 p.m. ET, ABC); Oct. 11 vs. Costa Rica at Columbus, Ohio (8 p.m., ESPN); Nov. 15 at Barbados.