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England’s men’s team will commence their UEFA Euro 2028 adventure at the Etihad Stadium, provided that they attain the anticipated entry for a tournament hosted across the bulk of Britain and the Ireland.

The Etihad Stadium has not hosted an English men’s game since the spring of 2016, when the Turkish team were overcome 2-1 in a friendly, but is highly likely to host the England side for their opening fixture on a Saturday in June 2028.

The English side are planned to play their concluding group fixtures at Wembley Stadium, but, if they top the preliminary round, their knockout stage opener would be held at the Newcastle stadium. Securing the runner-up spot would mean starting the knockouts at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Tournament Kickoff and Demonstration

The championship was inaugurated at an ceremony in central London on Wednesday evening. Key representatives from the tournament organizers and the host football associations were barracked as they approached the venue by about 50 protesters, who demanded Israel’s national side to be expelled from global football because of the conflict in Gaza.

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

Event Fixture List

The opening game of the tournament will be staged at the the national stadium of Wales in the Welsh capital, on June 9, 2028, a game that will include the Dragons if they make it.

Wembley will host both semi-finals and the title decider, which will be held on July 9, 2028 with a start time at late afternoon.

It is expected that an afternoon start, which will also be adopted for European club finals from the following campaign, will cater to family audiences and help reach a broader range of audiences.

Host Nations

The Ireland are scheduled to play their initial fixture at the Aviva Stadium and the Tartan Army would play similarly at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.

Each host nation’s squad will take part in the preliminary stage; two reserved places will be held in reserve for any that do not reach Euro 2028 through the qualification path.

Locations and Playoffs

The Birmingham venue and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium finalize the nine tournament locations. Each one will hold at least one elimination game, with the quarterfinal matches staged at each country’s national stadium.

The qualification draw will be staged in the Northern Irish capital, which was excluded as a venue city last year when it was revealed the proposed venue could not be upgraded in time, on 6 December 2026.

Tournament Vision

“It will be a championship for the followers and a showcase of everything we love about the football – its emotion and capacity to foster unity.”

More than three million passes, a record for a men’s European Championship, are anticipated to be offered to supporters.