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England’s men’s team will commence their Euro 2028 adventure at the the home of Manchester City, provided that they attain the expected qualification for a championship hosted across the bulk of Britain and the Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not staged an Three Lions match since eight years ago, when the visitors were defeated 2-1 in a friendly, but is almost certain to host the national team for their first match on Saturday 10 June 2028.

England are scheduled to play their final two group matches at Wembley, but, should they win Group B, their round of 16 match would be held at St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean beginning the elimination stage at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Opening and Demonstration

The tournament was launched at an event in central London on the previous evening. Key representatives from European football’s governing body and the host FAs were heckled as they arrived the venue by around fifty protesters, who urged Israel’s national side to be removed from international football because of the situation in Gaza.

Placards were displayed with slogans reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists called out: “Kick Israel out.”

Championship Fixture List

The opening game of Euro 2028 will be played at the the national stadium of Wales in the Welsh capital, on a Friday in June 2028, a match that will involve the Welsh team if they make it.

Wembley Stadium will host both semi-finals and the final, which will be staged on July 9, 2028 with a commencement at 5pm.

It is expected that an earlier kick-off, which will also be adopted for European club finals from next season, will cater to households and help engage a broader range of fans.

Qualifying Teams

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

The national sides of all four hosts will enter the qualifying tournament; two automatic spots will be set aside for any that miss out on Euro 2028 through the standard process.

Stadiums and Knockout Stage

Aston Villa’s stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium round out the nine host stadiums. Every stadium will hold at least one knockout match, with the quarter-finals held at the national stadium of each host.

The qualifying draw will be conducted in Belfast, which was removed as a tournament location last year when it emerged Casement Park could not be renovated in time, on 6 December 2026.

Leadership Comment

“This will be a tournament for the fans and a festival of everything we cherish about the game – its passion and ability to bring people together.”

Over 3 million tickets, a all-time high for a men’s European Championship, are anticipated to be made available to fans.