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England’s men’s team will commence their Euro 2028 journey at the Etihad Stadium, assuming they achieve the relatively straightforward passage for a competition taking place in the majority of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not hosted an English men’s match since May 2016, when the Turkish team were defeated 2-1 in a exhibition match, but is highly likely to welcome the Three Lions for their inaugural game on June 10, 2028.

The English side 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 Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean commencing the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Launch and Rally

The championship was launched at an gathering in central London on Wednesday night. Key representatives from Uefa and the organizing bodies were confronted as they entered the venue by about 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators, who demanded the Israeli team to be expelled from international football because of the situation in Gaza.

Placards were held up with slogans stating “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators called out: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Timeline

The opening game of the European Championship will be staged at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital, on a Friday in June 2028, a fixture that will involve Wales if they make it.

Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the final, which will be played on July 9, 2028 with a commencement at 5pm.

It is anticipated that an earlier start, which will also be adopted for European club finals from the following campaign, will attract family audiences and help connect with a more diverse set of audiences.

Host Nations

The Republic of Ireland are set to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and the Scottish team would play similarly at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will enter the qualification process; two reserved places will be reserved for any that miss out on the tournament through the qualification path.

Locations and Playoffs

Villa Park and The North London arena round out the nine tournament locations. All will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight staged at the national stadium of each host.

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

Tournament Vision

“It will be a tournament for the followers and a festival of everything we love about the game – its fervor and capacity to foster unity.”

In excess of three million tickets, a record for a Euro tournament, are projected to be offered to attendees.