Official: The complete schedule of the 2028 European Cup has been officially announced, with kick-off times at 21:00, 0:00 and 3:00
List of host locations and venues
This event is jointly hosted by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The nine host stadiums include:
Cardiff, Wales: National Stadium
Dublin, Ireland: Dublin Arena
Glasgow, Scotland: Hampden Park
Newcastle, England: St. James' Park
Manchester: Manchester United City Stadium
Liverpool: Everton Stadium
Birmingham: Villa Park
London: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
London: Wembley Stadium
In order to facilitate local fans to watch the game, each stadium will host at least two games from different groups.
Opening match and knockout arrangements
The opening match is scheduled to be held at the Cardiff National Stadium on June 9, 2028 (Friday), and will be the Group A group stage.
The 1/8 finals will be played in eight stadiums except Wembley, and the four quarter-finals are distributed in Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow and Wembley. To ensure fairness, teams that advance to the quarter-finals will compete in different venues.
Final Week Schedule
The final week will all be held at Wembley Stadium in London: the two semi-finals will be held on July 4 (Tuesday) and July 5 (Wednesday) respectively, and the final is scheduled to kick off on July 9 (Sunday).
Competition format and host privileges
The competition continues the 24-team format since 2016. The top two teams in the group and the four best third-placed teams advance to the top 16. Since then, a single-game elimination system has been adopted.
New "host group" rules for this session: If they advance directly, the five host teams (including Northern Ireland) will compete in the group stage at the preset venues:
England: Manchester City Stadium (1 game), Wembley (2 games)
Northern Ireland: Tottenham Stadium (1 game), Villa Park (1 game), Wembley (1 game)
Ireland: Dublin Arena (3 games)
Scotland: Hampden Park (3 games)
Wales: Cardiff National Stadium (3 games)
