Germany ruin the party for England women's record home crowd

Klara Buhl's late goal gave Germany a 2-1 win over World Cup semi-finalists England in their friendly on Saturday to send home a record crowd for a Lionesses home match disappointed.

Organisers hopes of the England v Germany friendly breaking the record attendance for a women's football match in the United Kingdom fell just short of the 2012 Olympic final between the United States and Japan -- England lost to boot

Buhl struck with less than a minute remaining on the clock to give the visitors their 21st win in 26 meetings and leaves Phil Neville's side with just one win in seven matches.

They face a couple of years of friendlies as they will host Euro 2021.

An attendance of 77,768 was recorded, which smashed the previous best for a Lionesses home fixture, but fell short of the best ever crowd for a women's match in the United Kingdom.

Organisers had said prior to the game it was a sell-out with all 86,000 tickets off-loaded but a dreary and wet day may well have put off the less hardy and devoted supporters.

 

The target was the 80,023 spectators who attended Wembley for the Olympic final in 2012 between the United States and Japan.

Alexandra Popp had given the Germans the lead inside three minutes with Neville's side failing to level when Nikita Parris missed a penalty.

However, the hosts got back on level terms when Ellen White tucked away the ball only for Buhl to steal it at the death.