The English Team to Begin Euro 2028 Campaign at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium

The England national team will embark on their 2028 European Championship journey at the Manchester City’s stadium, assuming they achieve the expected qualification for a competition hosted across most of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

City’s stadium has not staged an Three Lions fixture since May 2016, when the Turkish team were beaten 2-1 in a warm-up game, but is highly likely to host the national team for their first match on June 10, 2028.

The team are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley Stadium, but, should they win Group B, their knockout stage opener would take place at the Newcastle stadium. Finishing second would mean starting the playoffs at Everton’s ground.

Tournament Kickoff and Protest

The event was inaugurated at an gathering in central London on Wednesday night. Key representatives from Uefa and the host football associations were heckled as they arrived the site by about 50 protesters, who called for Israel to be kicked out from international football because of the conflict in Gaza.

Placards were held up with messages saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while demonstrators chanted: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Schedule

The first match of Euro 2028 will be staged at the the national stadium of Wales in the Welsh capital, on June 9, 2028, a game that will involve Wales if they qualify.

Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the championship match, which will be played on Sunday 9 July with a kick-off time at late afternoon.

It is hoped that an earlier start, which will also be implemented for Champions League finals from the following campaign, will appeal to families and help engage a more diverse set of viewers.

Participating Countries

The Irish team are scheduled to play their first game at the Dublin Arena and Scotland would play similarly at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

All four host countries’ teams will take part in the preliminary stage; two guaranteed slots will be held in reserve for any that do not reach Euro 2028 through the standard process.

Stadiums and Playoffs

Aston Villa’s stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium round out the nine host stadiums. Each one will hold at least one knockout match, with the quarter-finals held at the national stadium of each host.

The draw for the qualifiers will be staged in the Northern Irish capital, which was excluded as a tournament location last year when it became clear Casement Park could not be upgraded in time, on 6 December 2026.

Leadership Comment

“It will be a tournament for the supporters and a celebration of everything we value about the football – its emotion and capacity to bring people together.”

In excess of three million admissions, a record for a men’s European Championship, are anticipated to be released to supporters.