England learn venue of first Euro 2028 game with tournament opener scheduled for Cardiff as countdown to UK & Ireland-hosted tournament begins

The Three Lions have made light work of recent qualification campaigns - last failing to reach a major international tournament in 2008 under Steve McClaren. They are now aware of what their path will be when chasing down continental glory in 2028.

England will be looking to reach a third consecutive Euros final there - having suffered heartache against Italy and Spain in the last two competitions. Their bid for the ultimate prize will be opened in Manchester - as the Etihad stages an England men’s game for the first time since May 2016, when the Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by Turkey in a friendly.

Said contest will take place on Saturday June 10, 2028. From there, England will return to Wembley Stadium for their two remaining fixtures in the group stage. If they were to top Group B then they will head to St James’ Park in Newcastle for a last-16 match, or Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium if they finish second in their pot.

Wales have been made aware that, if they are able to qualify, Cardiff will have the honour of hosting the opening game on Friday June, 9. The Republic of Ireland have games heading to Dublin, while Hampden Park will welcome fixtures to Scotland. Both semi-finals and the final will take place at Wembley in north London. Two automatic qualification spots will be held back for host nations that do not reach the finals through the normal routes.

Villa Park and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium complete the list of nine host venues - with each of those set to figure in at least one knockout match. The quarter-finals will be split across the national stadiums of the four host nations. The qualifying draw will be held in Belfast, with Northern Ireland missing out on games after it was revealed that Casement Park could not be redeveloped in time.

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The final - on Sunday July, 9 - will kick-off at 5pm. That is three hours earlier than the last Euros showpiece to take place at Wembley in 2021 - with that clash between England and Italy being marred by fan unrest as supporters broke through barriers and forced entry.

The Football Association’s chair, Debbie Hewitt, has said of moving that game forward - in line with changes to Champions League final kick-off times: “It's easier to get there - we all know what happens to public transport late on a Sunday night.

“Also we hope that the fans will want to celebrate after the game and so it allows that to happen. And of course, you have safety and security too. So all of those factors come together and it's a common sense decision.”

She added on working with UEFA to ensure that ticket prices will be as fair as possible: “It will be a tournament for the fans and a festival of everything we love about the game – its passion and ability to bring people together.

“We're not a fan of dynamic ticketing pricing and I think UEFA have heard that loud and clear. There's been no pushback from UEFA. They're great partners. They understand, and have at their core, too, that we want to make this the most accessible Euros. So we're giving a lot of thought to ticket pricing, how we make sure that the accessibility metrics are delivered on.”

The qualifying draw for Euro 2028 will be held on December 6, 2026. The group stage will then run from March 2027 until November 2027, with the play-offs being held in March 2028. Ultimately, 24 teams will take part in the tournament.