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The England national team will embark on their UEFA Euro 2028 journey at the the home of Manchester City, assuming they secure the relatively straightforward qualification for a tournament taking place in most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

City’s stadium has not staged an England men’s fixture since May 2016, when the visitors were defeated 2-1 in a exhibition match, but is highly likely to welcome the England side for their opening fixture on Saturday 10 June 2028.

England are scheduled to play their final two group matches at Wembley Stadium, but, in the event of winning their group, their knockout stage opener would occur at St James’ Park. Finishing second would mean commencing the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Kickoff and Rally

The event was unveiled at an event in central London on the previous evening. Senior figures from Uefa and the host football associations were heckled as they entered the site by around fifty protesters, who urged Israel to be kicked out from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were displayed with slogans saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators called out: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Timeline

The inaugural fixture of Euro 2028 will be played at the Cardiff’s stadium in Cardiff, on June 9, 2028, a fixture that will involve Wales if they qualify.

Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the championship match, which will be held on July 9, 2028 with a kick-off time at late afternoon.

It is anticipated that an earlier kick-off, which will also be used for European club finals from the following campaign, will appeal to households and help connect with a more diverse set of audiences.

Participating Countries

The Irish team are set to play their first game at the Dublin stadium and the Scottish team would play similarly at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

All four host countries’ teams will enter the qualification process; two guaranteed slots will be set aside for any that do not reach Euro 2028 through that route.

Stadiums and Knockout Stage

Villa Park and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium finalize the event’s nine venues. Every stadium will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarter-finals held at every host’s main arena.

The qualifying draw will be conducted in the Northern Irish capital, which was removed as a host city last year when it emerged Casement Park could not be upgraded in time, on a date in late 2026.

Leadership Comment

“This will be a competition for the supporters and a festival of everything we love about the game – its emotion and power to foster unity.”

In excess of three million passes, a record for a UEFA European Championship, are anticipated to be released to supporters.