England concede late winner against Germany for fifth loss in seven on historic night at Wembley

• England 1 Germany 2

A crowd of 77,768 is a new attendance record for an England Women’s game but a less favourable one persists: one win in seven. At the death, Klara Buhl slotted low beneath Mary Earps after turning an out-of-form Steph Houghton and England, for all their late pressure, will hear that statistic a little longer.

“One in seven is totally unacceptable,” said Phil Neville, the England manager. “It is not what I see as success and we need to do something about it very quickly. We can talk about the emotional highs of the World Cup, but when you get into November that becomes an excuse. And we’re not having any excuses. I’ve got to take responsibility. Start with me and finish with me.”​

It had been a difficult of an evening, to say the least, but for the biggest women’s football crowd since London 2012 there was at least one worthwhile moment. There was no one else it could have been and somehow no other finish would have felt apt, either. As England emerged from a bruising half-hour period where they had been comprehensively outplayed by the two-times world champions, Ellen White, the joint-World Cup golden boot winner, plunged into the sliding, toe-poked finish that defined her summer. Kiera Walsh’s flighted delivery was timed to perfection, and White was similarly punctual. Trains and tubes and trams can only dream of exhibiting the kind of mechanical reliability White has for England.​

But there were issues. Nikita Parris has now missed all of her last three penalties, and England their last four when you count Houghton’s in the World Cup semi-final. Parris was impassive when her spot kick down the middle was met with the hand of Germany goalkeeper Merle Frohms, diverting the ball onto her outstretched leg before it careered onto the roof of the net. White, in England’s best passage of play up to that point, had clawed the ball into Beth Mead’s vicinity and the Arsenal forward, trundling free, had been felled by Frohms. Of all the criticism that has been levelled at Neville of late, his side’s performance from the spot is the most justified.​

“I had total confidence that [Parris] would score – she wanted to take the penalty,” Neville said. “I’m never going to criticise anyone that stands up there, but we need to start sticking them away. We had a list of three today: Nikita was the first one; Alex Greenwood, Beth Mead were in the order. We have to speak Nikita and see what she feels. I’m never one to take a penalty off someone if she feels she’s confident.”​

By his own admission, they needed a performance here, and had to play better, probably, than they ever had under him; a penny for his thoughts, then, when Lena Oberdof picked out Alexandra Popp to fire at Earps from point-blank range and the Manchester United keeper plunged low to direct the shot onto the bar. The game was two minutes old.​

For the ensuing 30 minutes, it was all Neville could do to watch his side dismantled piece-by-piece with grim, detached precision, the World Cup’s fourth-placed team reduced to hunting recently-disappeared shadows in the darkness of the Wembley night. No moment embodied this better than the opener and the whirr of chips and cutbacks that saw Kathrin Hendrich’s cross brought down by Dzenifer Marozsan and the Lyon playmaker send a perfect chip arcing into the feet of Popp.​

It was a sign of how powerful they were on the counter that an England corner won by Parris ended with Leah Williamson hacking the ball clear at the other end, with Earps skidding into a save from Buhl. Oberdorf skipped between Houghton and Williamson for a free header and Jill Scott smacked away two Germany shots on the spin. They thought they had their second, after the break, when Earps spilt the ball into the path of Lina Magull, who prodded home from an offside position.​

In their defence, England should have been playing against ten. The stretcher was summoned – albeit not needed – when Sara Doorsoun hurtled into a high tackle on Mead, as badly-timed a challenge as you will see, and if nothing else Mead will leave Wembley tonight grateful that her knee ligaments are intact. It is difficult to resist the feeling that Stéphanie Frappart, the first woman to referee a major men’s European match, got this one wrong, and had VAR been in use perhaps it would also have found that White was two yards offside for England’s equaliser.​

Substitutes Georgia Stanway, Jodie Taylor and Lauren Hemp were valuable for England but Germany’s greater class told.​

Match details

England (4-3-3): Earps; Bronze, Houghton, Williamson, Greenwood; Scott, Walsh, Nobbs (Stanway 77); Parris (Hemp 73), White (Taylor 73), Mead (Daly 73).
Subs not used: Telford (g), Bright, Stokes, McManus, Staniforth, England, Roebuck (g), Bonner.

Germany (4-3-3): Fromms; Kleinherne, Doorsoun, Oberdorf (Hegering, 45), Hendrich; Marozsan, Dabritz (Leupolz, 70), Magull (Lattwein, 84); Stark (Knaak 65), Popp (Bremer, 65), Buhl.
Subs not used: Maier, Schuller, Benkarth (g), Dallmann, Rauch, Schmitz (g), Knaak, Gasper, Lettwein.
Bookings: Frohms, Doorsoun, Kleinherne.

7:24PM

FT England 1-2 Germany

The whistle blows and Neville looks on in disbelief on the sidelines. That's now five defeats in seven for the Lionesses since the World Cup. An historic night, but not the result England would have wanted.

7:23PM

94 mins England 1-2 Germany

Last chance for England now as they line-up for a free-kick just right of centre 35 yards out. Stanway takes it, whips it into the centre but Frohms punches clear. It's the last of the action.

7:21PM

93 mins England 1-2 Germany

Let off for Houghton as she gets away with a professional foul. She was the last player after losing possession and pulled down Buhl, but no foul is given, much to the disbelief of plenty inside Wembley.

7:20PM

90 mins England 1-2 Germany

Four minutes of stoppage time now. Can England muster another equaliser?

7:19PM

89 mins England 1-2 Germany  - GOAL Buhl!

A clinical finish from Buhl as she charges at Houghton, shifts the ball onto her left foot and drills an effort across goal and past Earps. It had been coming these last five minutes.

7:17PM

88 mins England 1-1 Germany

Great block by Houghton! The England captain shows great concentration and steely determination to get her body in the path of an effort from Buhl. The Manchester City defender comes to England again during the next attacking wave for the visitors. They're finishing strongly here.

7:15PM

86 mins England 1-1 Germany

Bronze finally gets a chance to move forward, close to the edge of Germany's penalty area. She's barely been able to get out of her half this match such has been the marking and restriction of England's full-back. It's a short-lived foray as Germany win the ball back.

7:12PM

83 mins England 1-1 Germany

Williamson and Earps nearly at sixes and sevens clearing a long ball into the area. Earps boots clear for England.

7:10PM

81 mins England 1-1 Germany

Marozsan now causing problems for England as the latest round of Mexican waves circle the stadium. Greenwood clears England's lines but they soon lose possession again. The hosts haven't been able to create a decent passage of play in a good 10 or so minutes.

7:08PM

79 mins England 1-1 Germany

Magull shows some fancy footwork, weaving her way through England's midfield before she looses possession. Scott flicks the ball away and comes under a heavy challenge and then substitute Daly is penalised for a rash challenge of her own.

7:05PM

75 mins England 1-1 Germany

England now looking to settle back into their rhythm and just as that start stringing a few passes today they're making another change with Stanway coming on for Nobbs. England showing an intent now with an attacking line-up but will they have time to get into the groove?

7:01PM

72 mins England 1-1 Germany

England make their triple change with White, Mead and Parris replaced by Daly, Taylor and Hemp.

7:00PM

70 mins England 1-1 Germany

Germany make another change and the series of substitutions has just disrupted the rhythm of this match. England now lining up a trio of their own subs on the sidelines as Germany continue to pat the ball back and forth along their backline.

6:54PM

66 mins England 1-1 Germany

Double substitution for the visitors as Bremner and Knaak come on for Popp and Starke. England yet to make a change.

6:53PM

63 mins England 1-1 Germany - Goal ruled offside

Great passage of play now from Germany. They work the ball well into the penalty area, Popp has a shot from the edge of the area. Earps parries the ball, but only to Magull who is first to the follow up to push past the Manchester United keeper. It's rubbed off immediately by the assistant referee for offside.

6:47PM

54 mins England 1-1 Germany

It's confirmed that it is a record attendance for an England women's football match in the UK. There are 77,768 inside Wembley this evening, so not quite the 90,000 that had initially anticipated.

6:45PM

54 mins England 1-1 Germany

Parris is back on the pitch after treatment and looks to have shaken off that knock. She's back into the thick of things, setting up England's next attack which sees Scott play in White. White goes down, just outside the penalty box. She holds her arms out, but nothing's given.

6:42PM

52 mins England 1-1 Germany

Parris lets out a roar of discomfort and falls to the turf, clutching her right ankle after a tap from Kleinherne. It wasn't a heavy challenge from the right-back, but it has Parris in agony, slamming the turf in pain and then anger as she sits up to have a moan at the ref. She hobbles off to the sidelines for further treatment.

6:39PM

49 mins England 1-1 Germany

England settled nicely at start of second half. Patient build up leads to Parris playing in White on right-hand side of penalty box. She goes for goal, dragging her effort wide while Mead was better placed in the centre.

6:34PM

46 mins England 1-1 Germany

Second half under way and Germany only side to make a change. Hegering comes on for Oberdorf.

Neville tells BBC before start of resumption: For 22 minutes I thought the occasion was too much. Then after 22 minutes we started to play like an England team.

“The goal was perfect. Germany showed in the first 20 minutes why they’re such a good team.”

6:19PM

HT England 1-1 Germany

Just time for the restart before the whistle blows for half-time. What a time to score, and much deserved after their pressure for the last 15 to 20 minutes.

6:17PM

43 mins - England 1-1 Germany - GOAL!! White equalises for England!

England back in it and no surprise that it's White on the scoresheet. Nice work from Scott who lays the ball off to Bronze, who squares it to Walsh. The Manchester City midfielder whips in a great ball and White is on it in a flash to push the ball past Frohms. A great finish again from the prolific scorer.  Cue eye-cupping celebration.

6:15PM

43 mins - England 0-1 Germany

White tries to go it alone as she picks up a loose ball. She's full steam ahead, head down but the Manchester City forward is soon swarmed by German shirts and England support isn't at hand fast enough.

6:12PM

38 mins - England 0-1 Germany

England all over Germany now, moving the ball forward quickly. Parris looks to be through on goal but her touch is heavy and Frohms gathers.

6:09PM

36 mins - England 0-1 Germany - PARRIS PENALTY IS SAVED!

Parris goes straight down the middle and Frohms sticks out a leg and makes a strong connection. The ball flies up and lands on top of the net for another corner.

That's a third straight miss from the spot from Parris for England after two misses at the World Cup. Interesting to see if they get another spot-kick who will step up next.

6:07PM

35 mins - England 0-1 Germany - England win penalty!!

In a flash, England have a chance to get on levels terms from the spot. Mead is scythed down again. This time in the penalty box.

6:03PM

30 mins - England 0-1 Germany

Mead is scythed down close to the halfway line by Doorsoun. The German right-back is shown a yellow but the replays show it's a shocking tackle. Her studs were high and she catches Mead knee-high. The Arsenal forward is treated on the pitch but is back up and running a minute or two later. Doorsoun is lucky to still be on the pitch.

6:00PM

29 mins - England 0-1 Germany

Signs now that England are slowly getting themselves into proceedings. Mead finally gets motoring down the left wing and puts Hendrich through her paces. She wins another corner, on the opposite side this time. Mead takes a short one and whips in the returned ball from Greenwood but it's too deep. Better from England.

5:56PM

24 mins - England 0-1 Germany

England stretched now after losing possession from the corner. Mead loses the ball and Germany are on it in a flash. Buhl fires another low shot, but Earps gets her body behind it and does well in the slippery conditions.

5:54PM

23 mins - England 0-1 Germany

A roar goes round Wembley as Parris wins a free-kick. It's the first time the Lyon forward has had a touch of the ball. Within seconds Parris is doing what she does best, marauding down the right wing and pulls a ball back to the middle to earn England their first corner.

5:52PM

19 mins - England 0-1 Germany

Let-off for England as White finally clears England's line after a pin-ball exchange in the penalty area with Marozsan attempting to find space to drill a low shot through the crowd.

Germany quickly get the ball back into play to set up another attack. This time a long effort from Buhl which sails over the bar.

5:50PM

17 mins - England 0-1 Germany

Germany keeping their foot on the accelerator, Oberdorf tries her luck with a header which Earps gets down low to. The visitors are all over anything loose. It could be a long evening for the England fans.

5:46PM

14 mins - England 0-1 Germany

England still struggling to string more than two passes together and getting out of their half. Germany in complete here, finding more joy down the right and giving Mead and Greenwood plenty to think about.

5:43PM

11 mins - England 0-1 Germany

Germany keeper Frohms nearly loses possession outside her area with White charging down on her. She keeps her composure and regains control to clear her lines.

5:41PM

9 mins - GOAL! England 0-1 Germany - Popp makes breakthrough

Patient play from Germany down the right-hand side again. Hendrich finds a bit of space and curls a ball into the centre where Popp has space to head past Earps. England gave the teenager too much space there.

5:37PM

6 mins - England 0-0 Germany

Patient possession play from the visitors, moving up through the back before Greenwood dispossess Hendrich. England try to build from the back before losing possession again too easily.

5:35PM

3 mins - England 0-0 Germany

Popp strikes the crossbar! Germany pressing England at start of proceedings.  Popp finds herself in space on the left-hand side and lets fly from 20 yards. Earps gets her fingers onto the ball and tips onto the bar and it's away for a corner.

5:33PM

1 min - England 0-0 Germany

Germany get us under way. There are still quite a few empty seats but Jonathan Pearce makes a bold call early doors that there are in excess of 75,000 fans inside Wembley.

5:29PM

Moment for reflection

A minute's silence precedes the match for Remembrance Day. England and Germany lock arms around the centre-circle to pay their respects.

5:26PM

The players are out

A huge roar goes up as Houghton leads England out at Wembley. There's plenty of flag waving for the national anthems as both Germany and the Lionesses get soaked before the game is underway.

5:22PM

It's tipping it down at Wembley

Coverage has begun on BBC Two and Gabby Logan and pundits Kelly Smith and Rachel Finnis-Brown have been granted almighty umbrellas each to shield themselves from the downpour at Wembley.

Will this afternoon's weather put some fair-weather fans off from attending?

With 10 minutes to go there are plenty of empty seats, but most likely they're leaving it until the last possible moment to brave the cold.

5:18PM

Neville: We want the fans to come back

At his pre-match press conference yesterday, Phil Neville hinted that England are likely to play a few more matches at Wembley next year, ahead of the Euro 2021 which will be staged on these shores.

4:56PM

Meet the England superfans

Earlier this week, reporter Molly McElwee spoke to superfans Sophie Downey and Rachel O’Sullivan who reached their own milestone of watching England play 100 times home and away last month.

The married couple, who started their own football blog 'Girlsontheball' seven years ago, have travelled to 23 countries following England, spanning four major tournaments, 329 goals and three coaches.

Read the full story here. 

4:49PM

And the Germany XI

Germany: Frohms, Kleinherne, Hendrich, Oberdorf, Starke, Marozsan, Popp, Dabritz, Buhl, Magull, Doorsoun

4:37PM

England team news

Ellen White is back in England's starting XI for first time since World Cup. White is one of four City players in the line-up, including Jill Scott, Steph Houghton and Keira Walsh.

England: Earps, Bronze, Houghton, Williamson, Greenwood, Scott, Nobbs, Walsh, Mead, White, Parris

4:05PM

Stage set for record attendance

Evening all on an historic day for Phil Neville's England as they take on Germany at Wembley.

A record crowd for a women's match in the UK should be confirmed later when Steph Houghton leads the Lionessess out at the national stadium.

More than 86,500 tickets have been sold for England’s international friendly against the two-time world champions, just 3,500 short of the stadium's capacity.

Roll back five years, and 45,619 fans watched England women play their first ever match at Wembley, incidentally against today's opponents when they lost 3-0. Previously, 80,203 watched the 2012 women's Olympic final at Wembley between USA and Japan.

England will be looking to beat Germany for the first time in their history, a rivalry which stretches back to 1984. In fact, in all 25 meetings between the two teams, England can lay claim to just a solitary win. That bronze-medal winning match at the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

Neville's side go into today's clash in the midst of a sticky patch, winning just once in six matches since their World Cup semi-final showing in France this summer.

Sloppy defensive errors have largely been their downfall, while they have struggled for goals in the absence of England's World Cup hero, Ellen White.

White, who joined Manchester City from Birmingham over the summer, returns to the squad for the first time since the World Cup following knee surgery, and looks set to win her 89th England cap.

Toni Duggan was forced to withdraw from the squad earlier this week due to a lower back injury. White's City team-mates, Georgia Stanway and Gemma Bonner, were both called up after training with the squad at St George's Park this week.

After this evening's match, England will wrap up their season with a friendly against Czech Republic on Tuesday, November 12.

It will be quite the come down in location for England's players as the Stadion Strelecky ostrov in České Budějovice can hold just 6,681 fans.

Follow the latest as we build up to today's showpiece from Wembley, with team news expected at 4.30pm.