Germany win 2-1 as England women draw record crowd at Wembley

LONDON (Reuters) - A record crowd for an England women's team match watched the Lionesses fall to a 2-1 defeat to Germany at Wembley in a friendly on Saturday.

The attendance of 77,768 surpassed those of the Great Britain women's team's matches at the 2012 London Olympics.

England's Football Association had heavily marketed the game and offered tickets at a discount rate, with children's tickets available for just one pound.

The aim was to consolidate the enthusiasm for the team generated by England's run to the semi-finals of this year's Women's World Cup.

Germany grabbed the lead in the ninth minute through their captain Alexandra Popp, who was left unmarked to head home.

England's Ellen White equalised just before the break with a first time strike but Klara Buehl's 90th minute goal condemned Phil Neville's side to defeat.

England have won only once in seven games since the World Cup, but the FA will take greater encouragement from the attendance which follows some large crowds for the domestic women's league.

The highest attendance for any women's game in the United Kingdom remains the 80,203 who attended the Olympic final seven years ago between the United States and Japan.

(Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Hugh Lawson)