🔗 Share this article

The English squad will commence their Euro 2028 adventure at the Manchester City’s stadium, assuming they attain the anticipated entry for a competition hosted across most of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.

Manchester City’s home ground has not staged an Three Lions match since May 2016, when Turkey were overcome 2-1 in a exhibition match, but is highly likely to welcome the national team for their first match on a Saturday in June 2028.

England are scheduled to play their last two group stage games at Wembley, but, should they win Group B, their round of 16 match would take place at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Finishing second would mean commencing the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Tournament Opening and Rally

The event was inaugurated at an ceremony in a London landmark on Wednesday evening. Senior figures from Uefa and the organizing bodies were barracked as they entered the venue by about 50 protesters, who called for Israel to be expelled from the sport because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were displayed with messages reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters shouted: “Kick Israel out.”

Tournament Timeline

The inaugural fixture of the European Championship will be held at the the national stadium of Wales in Cardiff, on a Friday in June 2028, a match that will feature Wales if they make it.

Wembley Stadium will host the penultimate rounds and the final, which will be staged on July 9, 2028 with a start time at late afternoon.

It is hoped that an afternoon start, which will also be used for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will cater to families and help connect with a more diverse set of viewers.

Host Nations

The Ireland are scheduled to play their opening match at the Dublin stadium and the Tartan Army would play similarly at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

The national sides of all four hosts will enter the qualification process; two guaranteed slots will be reserved for any that miss out on the tournament through the qualification path.

Venues and Elimination Phase

Villa Park and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium finalize the nine host stadiums. Each one will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight played at every host’s main arena.

The qualification draw will be held in the Northern Irish capital, which was removed as a venue city last year when it was revealed the proposed venue could not be upgraded in time, on 6 December 2026.

Official Statement

“It will be a tournament for the fans and a celebration of everything we value about the game – its emotion and capacity to unite individuals.”

More than three million admissions, a record for a Euro tournament, are projected to be made available to attendees.