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Looking at the ten EURO 2028 host venues: Cardiff is expected to hold the tournament opener

Posted by Rhys Gregory July 13, 2024

With EURO 2024 at its conclusion, it is an ideal time to look ahead to the subsequent tournament in 2028, of which the opening match is expected to be played in Cardiff.

EURO 2028 is set to be hosted by the four nations encompassed within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. There will be nine host cities and 10 different stadiums where the fixtures will be played.

The hosts will likely open the tournament on home soil

The five hosts; England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will likely play their first game of the tournament within their respective nations – if they qualify. This has typically been the case when the European Championships have been hosted by multiple nations in the past.

This means that there is a possibility that one of the home nations – England – could begin a defence of the trophy in their national stadium in 2028.

England are underdogs in the EURO 2024 winner odds at 5/4 despite their impressive semi-final victory against the Netherlands. In a bet on Spain vs England, the Spaniards are 4/6 favourites to win the biggest and most important tie of the competition.

If the Three Lions can pull off an upset then the tournament in four years could be even bigger as one of the hosts would have the opportunity to become unprecedented back-to-back champions on home territory.

Cardiff is expected to hold the opener

Cardiff’s Principality Stadium is confirmed to be the only Welsh venue that will be utilised during EURO 2028. However, most vitally it is expected to host the opening game of the tournament.

If Wales are to qualify then they will surely be earmarked to get the tournament underway in their home capital. The Dragons failed to reach EURO 2024 and will be hoping they can make amends in the next qualification schedule to set up a historic 2028 appearance.

England to offer six EURO 2028 venues

England is set to host the most fixtures at EURO 2028 as they will offer six different venues spread across five cities within the country.

The iconic Wembley Stadium will likely host England’s opener and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will also host games within the capital. Villa Park will ensure the nation’s second-biggest city gets a taste of the action and the remaining venues are located further north.

The newly-built Everton Stadium, the Etihad Stadium and St James Park complete the array of English EURO 2028 stadiums.

One stadium made the list from each of the remaining hosts

The remaining host nations each have just one stadium on the list of 10 that are set to balance the month-long action.

Scotland’s Hampden Park is an excellent admission due to its history of hosting massive fixtures. The likelihood that Scotland could play a potential matchday one fixture there should provide a great incentive for the team to qualify.

Finally, over the Irish Sea, the Republic of Ireland will host EURO 2028 action at its impressive Aviva Stadium and Northern Ireland will offer the smallest capacity stadium at the tournament – Casement Park with just 30,000 seats.

EURO 2028 should be an amazing spectacle for fans of all the host nations – especially if all five manage to qualify. 10 incredible stadiums are set to share the summer of international action between them and none of the United Kingdom’s home nations or Ireland have been left out.

Rhys Gregory
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Editor of Wales247.co.uk