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The English squad will embark on their UEFA Euro 2028 journey at the Manchester City’s stadium, assuming they secure the expected qualification for a tournament hosted across most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

City’s stadium has not hosted an Three Lions fixture since May 2016, when the visitors were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is almost certain to welcome the Three Lions for their inaugural game on June 10, 2028.

England are planned to play their final two group matches at Wembley Stadium, but, in the event of winning Group B, their knockout stage opener would take place at the Newcastle stadium. Placing second would mean beginning the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Competition Kickoff and Protest

The championship was inaugurated at an event in central London on the previous evening. Senior figures from Uefa and the host football associations were heckled as they arrived the location by about 50 activists, who demanded Israel’s national side to be expelled from global football because of the conflict in Gaza.

Placards were raised with messages reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Championship 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 involve the Welsh team if they secure a place.

The national stadium will host both semi-finals and the final, which will be played on a Sunday in July 2028 with a start time at late afternoon.

It is hoped that an earlier kick-off, which will also be implemented for European club finals from the following campaign, will attract families and help connect with a more diverse set of fans.

Participating Countries

The Irish team are due to play their opening match at the Dublin stadium and Scotland would play similarly at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will enter the qualifying tournament; two automatic spots will be held in reserve for any that do not reach the tournament through that route.

Venues and Knockout Stage

The Birmingham venue and Spurs’ ground finalize the nine tournament locations. Each one will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight played at each country’s national stadium.

The qualification draw will be staged in Belfast, which was excluded as a host city last year when it was revealed the proposed venue could not be renovated in time, on 6 December 2026.

Leadership Comment

“This will be a championship for the fans and a celebration of everything we value about the game – its fervor and capacity to bring people together.”

More than three million tickets, a all-time high for a UEFA European Championship, are expected to be released to fans.