For soccer fans in Utah, today is the beginning of a landmark week. Sure the Olympics were nice, but for futbol junkies, there's no greater sporting event than the World Cup, and the qualification process is equally as exciting.

So let the excitement begin.

The U.S. Men's National Team, complete with Landon Donovan, Brian McBride, DeMarcus Beasley and a host of others officially begin training in Utah today in preparation for Saturday night's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Well over 30,000 seats have already been sold for the match, and those associated with ticket sales are anticipating a near-capacity crowd of 45,000. Of those fans, upwards of 15,000 of them could be Costa Rican supporters from all over North America.

While U.S. Soccer traditionally goes unnoticed by the mainstream sports fan except every fourth year when the World Cup is held, that is absolutely not the case in the rest of the CONCACAF region that encompasses North, Central American and Caribbean zone.

For virtually every other country in the region, soccer is a way of life, and national pride is often pinned on the performance of 11 soccer players.

For countries like St. Lucia, Cuba, Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago, the qualification process gives them a shot at competing with regional powers like Mexico, Costa Rica and the United States for a berth in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

In the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States were the CONCACAF region's three representatives. This time around, up to four teams may earn berths.

The qualification process is a long, arduous, two-year journey that includes as many as 20 matches for some countries.

In the CONCACAF region, there are three phases of qualifying. There are currently six teams in the final phase of qualifying, and Saturday represents the fourth of 10 match days. While the U.S. is hosting Costa Rica at the U., Mexico will be at Guatemala and Panama will be at Trinidad & Tobago.

During the final phase of qualifying, all six teams play each other twice (home and away) with three points awarded for a win and one for a tie. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 2006 World Cup, while the fourth-place finisher has a home-and-home series with Asia's fifth-place team for the final berth.

The United States has participated in the last four World Cups, and surprised everyone last year by advancing to the quarterfinals before losing to Germany 1-0. The U.S., along with Costa Rica and Mexico, are regarded as the big three in the region.

That's what makes Saturday's game so important.

With six points, the United States (2-1-0, 6 points) is second in the qualifying standings behind Mexico (2-0-1, 7 pts). Guatemala (1-1-1, 4 pts) and Costa Rica (1-1-1, 4 pts) are tied for third, followed by Panama (0-2-1, 2 pts) and Trinidad & Tobago (0-1-2).