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England’s men’s team will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 adventure at the Etihad Stadium, provided that they secure the expected passage for a championship hosted across the bulk of Britain and the Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not staged an English men’s fixture since May 2016, when Turkey were overcome 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is expected to stage the England side for their first match on a Saturday in June 2028.

The team are scheduled to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, should they win the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would occur at St James’ Park. Placing second would mean beginning the knockouts at Everton’s ground.

Competition Kickoff and Rally

The championship was launched at an ceremony in central London on the previous evening. High-ranking officials from European football’s governing body and the host FAs were confronted as they arrived the site by approximately 50 protesters, who demanded Israel to be kicked out from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were displayed with phrases reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Tournament Schedule

The inaugural fixture of the European Championship will be held at the the national stadium of Wales in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a match that will include the Dragons if they qualify.

Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the title decider, which will be held on a Sunday in July 2028 with a commencement at 5pm.

It is anticipated that an earlier start, which will also be implemented for UEFA Champions League finals from the upcoming season, will attract family audiences and help reach a wider spectrum of fans.

Participating Countries

The Republic of Ireland are scheduled to play their initial fixture at the Aviva Stadium and Scotland would do the same at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will take part in the qualifying tournament; two automatic spots will be set aside for any that fail to qualify for the finals through that route.

Stadiums and Elimination Phase

Villa Park and Spurs’ ground finalize the nine tournament locations. All will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the quarterfinal matches staged at each country’s national stadium.

The draw for the qualifiers will be conducted in the Northern Irish capital, which was dropped as a host city last year when it emerged the Belfast stadium could not be redeveloped in time, on December 6, 2026.

Tournament Vision

“The event will be a championship for the followers and a festival of everything we love about the sport – its passion and ability to bring people together.”

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