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England’s men’s team will embark on their 2028 European Championship journey at the Etihad Stadium, assuming they secure the expected qualification for a competition staged throughout the bulk of Britain and the Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not hosted an England men’s game since eight years ago, when Turkey were defeated 2-1 in a exhibition match, but is highly likely to stage the England side for their opening fixture on a Saturday in June 2028.

England are scheduled to play their last two group stage games at Wembley, but, in the event of winning the preliminary round, their round of 16 match would occur at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean commencing the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Championship Launch and Demonstration

The tournament was inaugurated at an gathering in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday night. Key representatives from the tournament organizers and the host football associations were heckled as they approached the location by approximately 50 protesters, who urged the Israeli team to be removed from the sport because of the Gaza crisis.

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

Event Timeline

The inaugural fixture of the European Championship will be played at the Cardiff’s stadium in Cardiff, on a Friday in June 2028, a game that will include the Welsh team if they qualify.

Wembley will host both semi-finals and the championship match, which will be played 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 the following campaign, will appeal to families and help engage a broader range of viewers.

Host Nations

The Republic of Ireland are scheduled to play their opening match at the Dublin Arena and the Tartan Army would do the same at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will enter the qualification process; two reserved places will be held in reserve for any that miss out on Euro 2028 through the qualification path.

Stadiums and Playoffs

Villa Park and The North London arena complete the nine host stadiums. Every stadium will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the last eight held at every host’s main arena.

The draw for the qualifiers will be held in Belfast, which was dropped as a tournament location last year when it emerged the Belfast stadium could not be upgraded in time, on 6 December 2026.

Tournament Vision

“It will be a tournament for the supporters and a showcase of everything we love about the sport – its emotion and power to bring people together.”

In excess of three million admissions, a record for a Euro tournament, are anticipated to be offered to supporters.