England women are set to play in front of a larger Wembley crowd in their upcoming friendly against Germany than watched Roy Hodgson’s men tackle Norway at the national stadium.

The Football Association confirmed to the Press Association that ticket sales on Friday were hovering at just under 41,000, far above the target of 30,000 they had set for the 23 November match.

The men’s friendly against Norway on 3 September drew an attendance of just 40,181, the smallest Wembley crowd for a senior England game since the stadium was rebuilt.

Ticket sales in the three weeks before the women’s game are also expected to be brisk, raising the possibility of a crowd exceeding 50,000.

Great Britain’s women Olympic Games team were watched by 70,584 as they beat Brazil 1-0 at Wembley in 2012. The England women’s team have not played at the stadium since its redevelopment.

Mark Sampson’s side have qualified for next summer’s World Cup in Canada by winning all 10 of their qualifying matches and the fixture against the European champions, Germany, will set a record for the largest crowd at a home England women’s international, going beyond the 29,092 that witnessed victory over Finland at the Etihad Stadium during Euro 2005.