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England’s men’s team will commence their Euro 2028 journey at the Manchester City’s stadium, provided that they secure the expected qualification for a competition staged throughout most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The Etihad Stadium has not staged an Three Lions game since the spring of 2016, when the visitors were defeated 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to welcome the England side for their opening fixture on Saturday 10 June 2028.

The team are planned to play their last two group stage games at Wembley, but, in the event of winning their group, their knockout stage opener would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean commencing the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Championship Kickoff and Protest

The tournament was inaugurated at an gathering in central London on the previous evening. High-ranking officials from Uefa and the host football associations were heckled as they approached the location by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who called for Israel to be expelled from global football because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were displayed with messages reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while activists chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Timeline

The inaugural fixture of the European Championship will be held at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, on June 9, 2028, a fixture that will include the Welsh team if they secure a place.

Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the title decider, which will be staged on a Sunday in July 2028 with a commencement at 5:00 PM.

It is hoped that an afternoon start, which will also be implemented for Champions League finals from the upcoming season, will appeal to families and help connect with a wider spectrum of viewers.

Qualifying Teams

The Irish team are scheduled to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and the Tartan Army would play similarly at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will take part in the qualifying tournament; two guaranteed slots will be set aside for any that do not reach Euro 2028 through the standard process.

Venues and Elimination Phase

Villa Park and Spurs’ ground complete the event’s nine venues. Each one will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the last eight held at the national stadium of each host.

The qualifying draw will be staged in the Northern Irish capital, which was dropped as a host city last year when it emerged the Belfast stadium could not be redeveloped in time, on a date in late 2026.

Official Statement

“This will be a tournament for the followers and a celebration of everything we value about the sport – its passion and power to foster unity.”

Over 3 million tickets, a record for a men’s European Championship, are projected to be released to supporters.