SHANGHAI, China (AP):

TWO WOMEN'S World Cup matches set yesterday were pushed back 24 hours at the last minute, creating problems for teams and confusion for fans.

FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, made the announcement 10 minutes after one of the games - Australia vs Canada in Group C in Chengdu - was scheduled to kick off.

The Australia, team was on its bus at the hotel ready to depart for the stadium when it was notified. Outside the Chengdu stadium, fans were told what had happened by officials on loud speakers.

"It's disappointing to find out so late about the rescheduling, but, that aside, it allows all teams to compete on an equal footing," Australia coach, Tom Sermanni, said.

Other matches affected

The other match pushed back to today was China vs. New Zealand in Group D in the northern city of Tianjin. A sellout crowd was expected at the 60,000-seat Olympic Center Stadium to watch the home team.

"With such a big event, you need to let people know earlier," said Wu Yufeng, a fan who learned about the postponement when he arrived about an hour before the match.

Moving the two games back will allow them to be played simultaneously with the other final group matches set for today - Norway vs. Ghana in Group C and Brazil vs. Denmark in Group D.

Those two games had already been pushed back a day because of a typhoon that hit China's eastern coast early yesterday. They were to play centre in the coastal cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou.

All four games are critical and will determine which four teams advance to the quarter-finals. Of the eight teams, only Ghana has no chance to advance. New Zealand has a slim chance.

Two quarter-final pairings are set for Saturday: England vs. the United States in Tianjin and North Korea vs. defending champions Germany in Wuhan.