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The English squad will initiate their UEFA Euro 2028 journey at the the home of Manchester City, assuming they achieve the anticipated qualification for a tournament staged throughout the bulk of Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Manchester City’s home ground has not staged an Three Lions match since eight years ago, when the visitors were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is almost certain to stage the England side for their first match on June 10, 2028.

The team are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley, but, in the event of winning the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would occur at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Finishing second would mean starting the knockouts at Everton’s ground.

Competition Kickoff and Protest

The event was inaugurated at an gathering in Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday evening. Senior figures from European football’s governing body and the organizing bodies were barracked as they approached the location by about 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators, who demanded Israel to be expelled from international football because of the Gaza crisis.

Placards were raised with messages saying “Show Israel the red card” and “You are complicit”, while protesters shouted: “Kick Israel out.”

Event Fixture List

The opening game of Euro 2028 will be held at the the national stadium of Wales in Cardiff, on Friday 9 June, a fixture that will feature the Dragons if they qualify.

Wembley will host the two semi-final matches and the championship match, which will be staged on Sunday 9 July with a commencement at 5:00 PM.

It is anticipated that an earlier start, which will also be implemented for Champions League finals from the upcoming season, will attract households and help reach a more diverse set of viewers.

Participating Countries

The Irish team are set to play their opening match at the Dublin Arena and the Tartan Army would do the same at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will participate in the preliminary stage; two automatic spots will be reserved for any that fail to qualify for Euro 2028 through that route.

Stadiums and Playoffs

Villa Park and The North London arena round out the nine host stadiums. Every stadium will hold at least one playoff fixture, with the quarter-finals staged at the national stadium of each host.

The draw for the qualifiers will be held in Belfast, which was dropped as a tournament location last year when it was revealed the Belfast stadium could not be redeveloped in time, on 6 December 2026.

Official Statement

“It will be a competition for the fans and a festival of everything we love about the sport – its emotion and capacity to foster unity.”

In excess of three million tickets, a all-time high for a men’s European Championship, are anticipated to be released to fans.