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The England national team will initiate their Euro 2028 campaign at the Manchester City’s stadium, provided that they secure the anticipated entry for a tournament taking place in most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

City’s stadium has not welcomed an English men’s match since the spring of 2016, when the visitors were overcome 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is expected to host the national team for their opening fixture on June 10, 2028.

The team are set to play their last two group stage games at the national stadium, but, should they win the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would occur at St James’ Park. Securing the runner-up spot would mean starting the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Tournament Kickoff and Demonstration

The tournament was unveiled at an event in central London on the previous evening. Key representatives from the tournament organizers and the organizing bodies were confronted as they entered the venue by around fifty pro-Palestine demonstrators, who called for Israel to be expelled from international football because of the Gaza crisis.

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

Event Timeline

The inaugural fixture of the tournament will be played at the Cardiff’s stadium in the Welsh capital, on Friday 9 June, a game that will feature the Dragons if they make it.

The national stadium will host both semi-finals and the championship match, which will be played on a Sunday in July 2028 with a commencement at late afternoon.

It is anticipated that an earlier kick-off, which will also be used for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will attract family audiences and help reach a wider spectrum of audiences.

Participating Countries

The Republic of Ireland are due to play their initial fixture at the Aviva Stadium and Scotland would follow suit at the national stadium of Scotland.

All four host countries’ teams will participate in the qualification process; two guaranteed slots will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for the finals through the standard process.

Stadiums and Playoffs

The Birmingham venue and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium complete the event’s nine venues. All will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarterfinal matches held at the national stadium of each host.

The qualifying draw will be conducted in Belfast, which was excluded as a venue city last year when it was revealed the Belfast stadium could not be renovated in time, on December 6, 2026.

Official Statement

“This will be a tournament for the supporters and a festival of everything we love about the football – its emotion and capacity to unite individuals.”

More than three million tickets, a all-time high for a UEFA European Championship, are anticipated to be made available to supporters.