The Football Association has defended its decision to sell more than 18,000 tickets to away fans for England’s critical World Cup qualification match against Poland at Wembley Stadium tomorrow night.

In a surprise move, prompted by extraordinary demand among the Polish migrant population in the UK, the FA agreed to make another 10,000 tickets available to away fans after the initial 8,000 allocation was sold by the Polish FA.

It is estimated by the Polish FA that more than 20,000 of their countrymen will be inside Wembley, meaning that almost a quarter of the 85,000 crowd will be supporting the away team for a match that England need to win to guarantee World Cup qualification rather than face a play-off next month.

Fifa regulations stipulate