The game at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, at which German President Christian Wulff and Chancellor Angela Merkel was present, was a 74,000 sell-out, as is the final.

All 32 games are being broadcast live on German television, with the 14.1 million viewers for last night's game smashing a women's football television audience record.

Katarina Witt, the chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, said: "Women's football has a strong base here in Germany, so the organisers can guarantee passionate crowds, an incredible TV spectacle and, fingers crossed, a great performance from the home team - just what athletes, fans and sponsors want.

"And because we have that strong base, the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany will be an excellent platform for raising the profile of women's football all over the world and inspiring a generation of young athletes to play and stay in sport.

"Munich 2018's Festival of Friendship will have exactly the same energising effect on every sport on the Winter Games programme.

"An Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Germany would revitalise the worldwide winter sports movement, with an unforgettable sporting spectacle, unprecedented commercial revenues and greater global exposure than ever before."

Germany's is the current holder of the Women's World Cup, and its status as a leading power in the sport is further reflected by the fact that more than one million female players are registered with the German football league.

The President of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Organising Committee Steffi Jonesn (pictured with Wulff) added: "It would be great to have the Olympic and Paralympic Games back in Germany after such a long time.

"Knowing Germany's passion for sports and its enthusiastic fans, one can imagine what a fantastic event Germany could offer to the athletes and the Olympic Movement."

Bernhard Schwank, chief executive of Munich 2018, emphasised Germany's record hosting major international sporting events, having also held the men's World Cup in 2006, a tournament considered to be the most successful in history.

"The athlete has been at the heart of every single planning decision we have made.

"We've been able to put together a uniquely athlete-friendly concept because we have been in constant consultation with our 125 sports ambassadors, and because Germany has such enormous experience in hosting sports mega-events - we really know all the little things that make a big difference to an athlete's experience.

"The FIFA Women's World Cup is the latest in a long, illustrious list of international competitions in Germany, and we've worked hard to incorporate the lessons we've learned from every single one of them."

The final decision on the host for 2018 will be made in Durban on July 6, with Munich up against competition from Annecy and Pyeongchang.

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