November 13 – The Welsh capital Cardiff will host the opening match of EURO 2028, with London’s Wembley Stadium set to stage both semi-finals and the final, organisers have confirmed.
Nine venues across Great Britain and Ireland will host fixtures during the 24-team tournament which will get underway on June 9, 2028 at the National Stadium of Wales – all venues for UEFA tournaments have sponsorship names removed.
The Irish capital Dublin will receive seven matches, including five group-stage fixtures and a quarter-final. Glasgow’s Hampden Park will welcome six matches, including four group games and a last-eight affair. If Ireland, Wales and Scotland qualify for the tournament they will play all their group matches at their national stadium.
England are scheduled to play one group match in Manchester and two at Wembley. The London venue will not stage a round of sixteen match, but gets a quarter-final as well as both semi-finals and the final on July 9 a month after the opening match.
In 2021, Wembley also hosted the semi-finals and final of EURO 2020, a tournament delayed and restricted by COVID-19. England lost the final on home soil against Italy on penalties. In 1996, the Three Lions crashed out in the last four when England hosted EURO 1995 – to Germany, again on penalties.
The 2028 finals will be the fourth time the European championship is staged in a 24-team format. The draw for qualifying will be held in Belfast in December 2027.
UEFA confirmed the match schedule on Wednesday at an event in the English capital. More than three million match tickets will be available for EURO 2028, but UEFA has not yet released details.
Germany hosted the last tournament, EURO 2024, with Spain winning a fourth continental crown. Once again, England ended up second best.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at [email protected]