All 60,000 tickets for the under-21 international between England and Italy – the first match at the new Wembley Stadium – were sold within six hours of going on sale yesterday.

Fans were able to purchase tickets for the March 24th game for £10 and they will be the first to see an England representative team take to the field at the brand new national stadium since it was rebuilt.

The crowd will be the largest-ever for an under-21 international and is more than double the previous record set in November 2005 when just over 25,000 people witnessed England draw with France at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane.

The match will be the second 'ramp-up' event scheduled for the stadium in order to secure a general safety certificate from Brent borough council.

A community day will take place on March 17th, a week before the under-21s match, in order to test the facilities at the new venue.

Up to 60,000 local residents will be admitted to see the new stadium and nearby school football teams will take part in a 'skills and drills' session on the pitch.

The game itself is an important warm-up match for the under-21s as they prepare for the European Championships in the Netherlands this summer. England qualified for the tournament after a 3-0 aggregate victory over Germany in a play-off last autumn.

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