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The England national team will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 adventure at the Manchester City’s stadium, assuming they attain the expected passage for a competition hosted across the majority of the UK and the Irish Republic.

Manchester City’s home ground has not hosted an Three Lions match since the spring of 2016, when the Turkish team were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to welcome the England side for their inaugural game on June 10, 2028.

The English side are scheduled to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, should they win their group, their knockout stage opener would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean beginning the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Championship Opening and Protest

The tournament was inaugurated at an ceremony in central London on the previous evening. Key representatives from Uefa and the host FAs were heckled as they arrived the location by approximately 50 protesters, who demanded Israel’s national side to be kicked out from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Signs were displayed with messages saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Fixture List

The opening game of Euro 2028 will be held at the Cardiff’s stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a fixture that will include the Welsh team if they make it.

Wembley will host both semi-finals and the title decider, which will be staged on Sunday 9 July with a commencement at 5pm.

It is expected that an afternoon start, which will also be adopted for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will appeal to families and help connect with a wider spectrum of audiences.

Qualifying Teams

The Republic of Ireland are set to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and the Scottish team would do the same at Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will enter the qualification process; two automatic spots will be set aside for any that do not reach the tournament through the qualification path.

Venues and Playoffs

Aston Villa’s stadium and Spurs’ ground complete the nine host stadiums. All will hold at least one knockout match, with the last eight played at each country’s national stadium.

The draw for the qualifiers will be conducted in the Northern Irish capital, which was removed as a tournament location last year when it became clear Casement Park could not be upgraded in time, on 6 December 2026.

Official Statement

“It will be a tournament for the supporters and a celebration of everything we value about the sport – its fervor and power to foster unity.”

In excess of three million passes, a unprecedented number for a men’s European Championship, are expected to be made available to supporters.