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The English squad will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 journey at the Manchester City’s stadium, provided that they secure the relatively straightforward entry for a competition taking place in the bulk of Britain and the Irish Republic.

The Etihad Stadium has not hosted an English men’s match since eight years ago, when the Turkish team were defeated 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to welcome the England side for their opening fixture on June 10, 2028.

The English side are set to play their last two group stage games at Wembley, but, in the event of winning their group, their round of 16 match would take place at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean starting the elimination stage at Everton’s ground.

Tournament Launch and Demonstration

The event was unveiled at an event in Piccadilly Circus on the previous evening. Key representatives from European football’s governing body and the organizing bodies were heckled as they arrived the location by about 50 activists, who called for Israel’s national side to be expelled from international football because of the situation in Gaza.

Banners were raised with slogans reading “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters shouted: “Kick Israel out.”

Tournament Fixture List

The first match of the tournament will be played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, on a Friday in June 2028, a game that will involve Wales if they qualify.

The national stadium will host both semi-finals and the championship match, which will be staged on July 9, 2028 with a start time at 5:00 PM.

It is expected that an afternoon start, which will also be implemented for Champions League finals from next season, will attract households and help connect with a broader range of fans.

Participating Countries

The Republic of Ireland are due to play their initial fixture at the Aviva Stadium and the Tartan Army would do the same at the national stadium of Scotland.

The national sides of all four hosts will participate in the qualification process; two automatic spots will be set aside for any that miss out on the finals through the standard process.

Stadiums and Elimination Phase

Villa Park and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium round out the event’s nine venues. Every stadium will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarter-finals held at every host’s main arena.

The qualification draw will be staged in Belfast, which was excluded as a tournament location last year when it was revealed the Belfast stadium could not be renovated in time, on a date in late 2026.

Tournament Vision

“The event will be a competition for the supporters and a festival of everything we value about the sport – its passion and capacity to foster unity.”

Over 3 million tickets, a all-time high for a Euro tournament, are expected to be made available to supporters.