Record attendance as England's Lionesses lose to Germany at Wembley

England have lost 2-1 to Germany in front of a record home attendance for the Lionesses.

More than 86,000 tickets were issued for the Wembley match, but the actual attendance was 77,768 - some people seemingly staying home due to the heavy rain.

It still easily beat the 70,584 who watched a British women's team play Brazil at the 2012 Olympics.

Germany took an early lead in the ninth minute through their captain, Alexandra Popp, before England's Nikita Parris missed a penalty in the 36th minute.

The home side were back on terms just before the end of the first half, with Ellen White tapping in to give fans a boost before the break.

But there was late heartbreak for the Lionesses when Klara Buhl scored a decisive 90th-minute goal.

Asked about the bumper performance, England's Gemma Bonner before the game: "It shows we are getting respected for the work we've done day in and day out.

"It's been a long road to get to this occasion, but one we should embrace, enjoy."

Interest in women's football has been growing and received another boost when the Lionesses reached the World Cup semi-finals this summer.

Striker White said: "Hopefully this is the start of us selling out massive stadiums, of people supporting us and wanting to come and watch women's football."

A Super League record was set in September when 31,213 watched the Manchester derby, while more than 24,000 have since watched games at West Ham and Chelsea.

England's semi-final loss to the US in July started a five-match winless run, which only ended last month with victory over Portugal, and the team will be disappointed not to come out on top in front of the historic Wembley crowd.