BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The faded sign across the now-closed upper deck of Legion Field still reads "Football Capital of the South." And when people talk about going for ribs, they're likely talking about a meal at Dreamland, not ways for defenders to knock attacking players out of the game.

But at the stadium where Bear Bryant wore his houndstooth hat and Joe Namath became a star, futbol takes over from football tonight when the United States plays Guatemala in the Americans' first home game in the final round of World Cup qualifying.

Instead of "Roll, Tide, Roll!" Legion Field fans figure to be cheering "U-S-A! U-S-A!" That's quite a contrast to the 110,000 fans at Estadio Azteca who cheered Mexico to a 2-1 victory Sunday.

The U.S. Soccer Federation wants to see a lot of red, white and blue.

"We're going to see Guatemala's fans when we go to Guatemala City," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "We shouldn't be seeing more of them here."

Mexico (2-0) leads the final round of qualifying in the North and Central American and Caribbean region with six points, two ahead of Guatemala (1-0-1) and three in front of the United States and Costa Rica (both 1-1). The top three teams advance to next year's tournament in Germany, and the fourth-place team goes to a playoff against an Asian nation for another berth.

It's the start of a key stretch for the U.S. team, which plays four of its next five qualifiers on American soil.

"You put one step into the World Cup if you win your games at home," U.S. captain Claudio Reyna said. "We shouldn't get too anxious, it's only the third game."

In Birmingham, the qualifier has been front-page news. The U.S. national team has played at Legion Field just twice, and both were exhibition games: a 1-1 tie against Tunisia in March 2000 and a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in March 2002.

Reyna still remembers when he scored 28 seconds in during a 3-1 win over Argentina in the 1996 Olympics, a game that drew 83,810 to Legion Field. That, however, was the American Under-23 team supplemented with three overage wild-card players, not the full national team.

"It was a great venue for us," said Arena, who was the U.S. Olympic coach then.

The USSF expects a crowd of 25,000 to 30,000 tonight. Guatemala is coming off a 5-1 win Saturday against Trinidad and is led by Carlos Ruiz, who has eight goals in qualifying. The Americans are 7-4-3 against the Guatemalans, including 6-0 at home, but the teams haven't played since 2000, when they tied 1-1 in Mazatenango and the Americans won 1-0 in Washington, both semifinal-round qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup.

"The United States, away or at home, plays very well," Ruiz said. "I know it's a difficult game."

In Mexico City, the Americans went with a defensive formation. Eddie Johnson, who turns 21 on Thursday, was the lone forward during the first half.

"Their game changed dramatically when they changed from one forward to two forwards," Guatemala coach Ramon Maradiaga said through a translator.

They are expected to be more aggressive playing at home, although they must replace DaMarcus Beasley, suspended because he received his second yellow card of qualifying Sunday.

"You want to attack, you want to throw numbers forward," defender Gregg Berhalter said, "but you don't want to open yourself up to a counterattack when they're coming with numbers and they get easy opportunities."

Arena expects the Guatemalans to be on the defensive, playing for a tie.

"I think they'll come in here tomorrow real happy to get a point, so they can sit back comfortably, force us to take the game to them and wait for an opportunity to catch us on a break or get us on a rebound," he said. "It's a nice position to be in."