The Football Association (FA)’s website crashed yesterday (Tuesday) after almost 45,000 fans tried to purchase tickets to watch England take on the US at Wembley in October.
The game was announced by the FA and prompted a surge to purchase tickets, with supporters given an estimated wait time of over an hour.
Demand for tickets across the women’s game has rocketed since England beat Germany in the Women’s Euro 2022 final at Wembley on Sunday.
England last faced the US in the SheBelieves Cup in Orlando in 2020, where the US triumphed 2-0. Before that, the two teams met in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup in France. The US won 2-1 before going on to life the trophy.
The friendly is subject to England qualifying for the 2023 World Cup next month, which is set to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
Over 20,000 tickets have been sold for the US friendly so far, with more tickets to be released.
England manager Sarina Wiegman told the Guardian: “It is really exciting to have the chance to play the US at Wembley if we can make sure of qualification for the World Cup. It would be the perfect game for our squad to meet another strong team after so many tough games in the Euros.
“It is good we enjoy the moment we are in after this wonderful summer but we know we still have work to do to take the next step forward … It will be great to welcome as many fans as possible so that we can say thanks again for their incredible support.”
Image: James Boyes/CC BY 2.0/Edited for size