After the glamour of a full house against world champions Spain, England look set to crash back to earth against Sweden before their lowest Wembley crowd in more than a decade.

Only 40,000 tickets have been sold for Tuesday’s friendly against the Swedes, with a crowd of less than 50,000 forecast by stadium officials.

The lowest crowd since Wembley reopened four years ago currently stands at 57,897 for a 6-0 win in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra, in June 2009, on the night of a tube strike.

Empty seats: A record low attendance is expected at Wembley for England's friendly against Sweden

The last time fewer than 50,000 turned out to watch England at home was for Steve McClaren’s first game as manager when 45,864 saw a 4-0 win in a friendly against Greece at Old Trafford.

The last sub-50,000 crowd to see England at Wembley was 38,535 for a November friendly against the Czech Republic in 1998, when Glenn Hoddle’s team won 2-0.

Saturday’s game against Spain is sold out with many fans, given the choice, opting to see Fabio Capello’s team against world champions in a teatime kick-off (5.15pm) rather than Sweden on a Tuesday night.

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