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The England national team will commence their Euro 2028 adventure at the Etihad Stadium, assuming they secure the anticipated entry for a tournament taking place in the bulk of Britain and the Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not hosted an Three Lions match since eight years ago, when Turkey were beaten 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is expected to host the Three Lions for their opening fixture on Saturday 10 June 2028.

The team are scheduled to play their concluding group fixtures at the national stadium, but, if they top the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would occur at the Newcastle stadium. Placing second would mean starting the elimination stage at Everton’s ground.

Competition Opening and Demonstration

The event was unveiled at an event in central London on Wednesday evening. High-ranking officials from Uefa and the host football associations were confronted as they arrived the site by around fifty protesters, who urged the Israeli team to be kicked out from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were held up with messages saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists shouted: “Kick Israel out.”

Tournament Fixture List

The inaugural fixture of the European Championship will be held at the Cardiff’s stadium in Cardiff, on Friday 9 June, a game that will feature Wales if they make it.

Wembley Stadium will host the two semi-final matches and the championship match, which will be played on a Sunday in July 2028 with a kick-off time at 5pm.

It is hoped that an earlier kick-off, which will also be adopted for Champions League finals from the upcoming season, will appeal to families and help engage a wider spectrum of viewers.

Host Nations

The Ireland are scheduled to play their first game at the Dublin Arena and Scotland would follow suit at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will take part in the preliminary stage; two automatic spots will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for the tournament through the qualification path.

Stadiums and Elimination Phase

Villa Park and The North London arena finalize the nine tournament locations. Every stadium will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarterfinal matches played at every host’s main arena.

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

Tournament Vision

“This will be a tournament for the fans and a showcase of everything we love about the sport – its emotion and power to unite individuals.”

Over 3 million tickets, a all-time high for a Euro tournament, are expected to be released to attendees.