Euro 2028: Co-host England may play two matches away from Wembley

Co-host England could play two matches away at Wembley at Euro 2028.

BBC Sport has learned that the Three Lions, who will have to qualify for the tournament, will play one of their three group matches at one of the five other English stadiums hosting the matches – Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Villa Park, Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, and Newcastle’s St James’ Park.

Wembley will not host any round of 16 matches, meaning England will also face a match away from the National Stadium if they reach the first knockout round.

England is a joint host alongside Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

As first reported by The Times, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium is set to host the opening match.

The full schedule will be revealed on November 12 at the official launch of Euro 2028 in London.

The English Football Association and UEFA declined to comment.

England played all their matches at Wembley Stadium in UEFA Euro 1996, reaching the semi-finals of their respective tournament.

They also hosted matches at Euro 2020, which was split between several countries, and played all their matches at Wembley except for the quarter-final win over Ukraine in Rome.

England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland will have to qualify for Euro 2028, but two places in the finals will be reserved if any of those host nations fail to qualify, UEFA said.

The Aviva Stadium in Dublin and Hampden Park in Glasgow will also host matches.

The withdrawal was originally scheduled to take place in Northern Ireland, but was withdrawn after Casement Park in Belfast was removed as an option due to funding issues.