Organisers are confident there won't be a repeat tonight of the traffic debacle which marred the opening match of the Under-20 World Cup.

Tonight's FIFA cup match between New Zealand and the United States kicks off at 7 o'clock at Albany's QBE stadium.

Event planners are urging people to take buses, after a jammed northern motorway meant some missed the start of Saturday's match.

Local Organising Committee spokesman Noel Barkley is pointing out there are key differences this time.

"Clearly the difference between Saturday is that then we had 25,000 people attending the game at a time when the shopping centres were closing. We'd probably have much less of a crowd in the evenings."

Noel Barkley is expecting up to 18-thousand people to attend the game tonight.