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The English squad will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 adventure at the Manchester City’s stadium, provided that they secure the relatively straightforward entry for a tournament taking place in most of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.

Manchester City’s home ground has not welcomed an English men’s match since eight years ago, when Turkey were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is expected to welcome the national team for their first match on Saturday 10 June 2028.

The English side are scheduled to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, if they top the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Securing the runner-up spot would mean commencing the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Championship Launch and Protest

The tournament was inaugurated at an ceremony in a London landmark on Wednesday evening. Key representatives from European football’s governing body and the host FAs were barracked as they entered the venue by around fifty activists, who demanded Israel’s national side to be kicked out from the sport because of the conflict in Gaza.

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

Event Fixture List

The inaugural fixture of the European Championship will be staged at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, on Friday 9 June, a match that will feature Wales if they qualify.

Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the final, which will be held on July 9, 2028 with a kick-off time at 5:00 PM.

It is hoped that an earlier kick-off, which will also be adopted for UEFA Champions League finals from the upcoming season, will cater to family audiences and help reach a broader range of fans.

Host Nations

The Republic of Ireland are scheduled to play their opening match at the Dublin Arena and the Tartan Army would play similarly at Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will participate in the qualifying tournament; two reserved places will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for Euro 2028 through the standard process.

Venues and Knockout Stage

Aston Villa’s stadium and The North London arena finalize the nine tournament locations. All will hold at least one elimination game, with the last eight held at each country’s national stadium.

The draw for the qualifiers will be staged in the Northern Irish capital, 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.

Leadership Comment

“The event will be a tournament for the fans and a festival of everything we cherish about the sport – its emotion and power to unite individuals.”

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