U.S. men to face Guatemala

Maurice Edu left Beijing when the United States was eliminated from the Olympic soccer tournament last Wednesday and flew to Toronto. Then he went to Scotland to sign a contract with Glasgow Rangers before heading to Guatemala for the U.S. national team's World Cup qualifier tonight.

The Americans open the semifinals of the North and Central American and Caribbean region with two road games, moving on to Cuba on Sept. 6. The top two nations in each of the three semifinal groups advance to next year's regional finals.

The United States is ranked 31st in the world, tops in CONCACAF, and Guatemala is just 100th in the FIFA rankings.

Midfielders Michael Bradley and Sacha Kljestan, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan headed back from China along with Edu after the Americans were eliminated by Nigeria in the first round of the Olympic tournament. More than half the players on the 18-man roster went to Central America after weekend games in England, France, Germany and Scotland with their clubs.

Guatemala, which has never made it to the World Cup, is led by several players from Major League Soccer. The group includes Carlos Ruiz, a teammate of Donovan's on the Los Angeles Galaxy. Midfielder Marco Pappa starts for the Chicago Fire.

TERRY SELECTED ENGLAND CAPTAIN: John Terry was chosen England's captain for a second time on Tuesday. Terry's second spell as full-time captain starts Wednesday at Wembley in a friendly against the Czech Republic.

GEORGIA VS. IRELAND MATCH MOVED: FIFA is moving Georgia's home World Cup qualifier against Ireland on Sept. 6 to a neutral site because of safety concerns. Soccer's governing body gave Georgia until Aug. 26 to nominate a neutral venue.