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The England national team will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 adventure at the Manchester City’s stadium, on the condition that they achieve the expected entry for a championship staged throughout most of the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.

City’s stadium has not staged an Three Lions game since May 2016, when the Turkish team were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to stage the England side for their inaugural game on June 10, 2028.

England are scheduled to play their final two group matches at Wembley, but, if they top the preliminary round, their last-16 tie would take place at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Finishing second would mean starting the elimination stage at Everton’s ground.

Competition Kickoff and Protest

The event was unveiled at an gathering in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday evening. Senior figures from European football’s governing body and the host football associations were heckled as they arrived the site by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who demanded Israel’s national side to be expelled from the sport because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were raised with phrases saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Tournament Fixture List

The inaugural fixture of the tournament will be held at the Cardiff’s stadium in the Welsh capital, on June 9, 2028, a fixture that will include the Dragons if they secure a place.

The national stadium will host the two semi-final matches and the final, which will be played on a Sunday in July 2028 with a commencement at 5pm.

It is hoped that an earlier kick-off, which will also be implemented for European club finals from the following campaign, will appeal to households and help reach a more diverse set of fans.

Qualifying Teams

The Republic of Ireland are scheduled to play their opening match at the Aviva Stadium and Scotland would follow suit at Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will participate in the preliminary stage; two guaranteed slots will be set aside for any that fail to qualify for Euro 2028 through that route.

Locations and Elimination Phase

The Birmingham venue and Spurs’ ground complete the nine host stadiums. All will hold at least one knockout match, with the quarter-finals 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 emerged the Belfast stadium could not be upgraded in time, on 6 December 2026.

Tournament Vision

“This will be a championship for the followers and a showcase of everything we cherish about the game – its emotion and ability to bring people together.”

In excess of three million tickets, a record for a UEFA European Championship, are expected to be offered to attendees.