The English Team to Begin Euro 2028 Campaign at the Etihad Stadium

England’s men’s team will commence their Euro 2028 journey at the the home of Manchester City, assuming they secure the expected qualification for a tournament hosted across most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The Etihad Stadium has not hosted an English men’s match since eight years ago, when the visitors were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is expected to host the Three Lions for their inaugural game on June 10, 2028.

The team are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley Stadium, but, should they win the preliminary round, their last-16 tie would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Securing the runner-up spot would mean starting the elimination stage at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Championship Kickoff and Demonstration

The championship was launched at an event in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday evening. Key representatives from Uefa and the host FAs were barracked as they approached the site by approximately 50 protesters, who demanded Israel to be kicked out from global football because of the Gaza crisis.

Signs were raised with messages reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters called out: “Kick Israel out.”

Tournament Schedule

The inaugural fixture of the European Championship will be staged at the the national stadium of Wales in the Welsh capital, on June 9, 2028, a fixture that will feature the Welsh team if they make it.

Wembley will host both semi-finals and the title decider, which will be played on July 9, 2028 with a kick-off time at late afternoon.

It is hoped that an afternoon start, which will also be used for European club finals from the following campaign, will attract families and help engage a wider spectrum of audiences.

Qualifying Teams

The Republic of Ireland are due to play their initial fixture at the Dublin Arena and the Scottish team would play similarly at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will enter the preliminary stage; two guaranteed slots will be reserved for any that do not reach the finals through that route.

Stadiums and Knockout Stage

Aston Villa’s stadium and Spurs’ ground round out the event’s nine venues. All will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarterfinal matches played at the national stadium of each host.

The draw for the qualifiers will be held in the Northern Irish capital, which was dropped as a venue city last year when it was revealed the Belfast stadium could not be upgraded in time, on December 6, 2026.

Tournament Vision

“It will be a competition for the fans and a celebration of everything we value about the game – its emotion and ability to bring people together.”

More than three million passes, a unprecedented number for a Euro tournament, are projected to be made available to fans.