England coup made public for St James’ Park | OneFootball

Great news for St James’ Park, Newcastle United and the region overall, as plans for Euro 2028 updated and Tyneside set to host England in the last 16  if everything goes to plan.

Euro 2028 will start on Friday 9 June 2028 and end with the final on Sunday 9 July 2028.

It will be played at nine venues across England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland

The tournament will feature 51 matches overall involving 24 teams across 31 days with the home nations playing all group games in front of own fans if they qualify.

There will be 24 nations taking part and a total of 51 matches played.

Amongst the 51 games, five of them will be played at St James’ Park.

Dates for games at St James’ Park Group games Monday 12 June 2028 (Group E match) Thursday 15 June 2028 (Group C match) Saturday 17 June 2028 (Group F match) Tuesday 20 June 2028 (Group D match)

Then on Sunday 25 June 2028, St James’ Park will host the last 16 knockout match between the winners of Group B and one of the third in the group finishers from Groups A, D, E or F (There are six groups and the top two in each four team group automatically go through to the last 16, plus the best four who finish third in their groups).

Assuming England qualify for Euro 2028, they will be in Group B and so if they top their four team group at the tournament in summer 2028, they will play their last 16 knockout match at St James’ Park.

Cardiff will host the opening game of Euro 2028, with the semi-finals and final scheduled to take place at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Nine venues across four host nations – England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland – will stage the 24-team tournament.

Northern Ireland was also set to be a host nation but Belfast’s Casement Park was removed as an option because of a lack of funding.

Uefa’s decision to play the first game in the Welsh capital was confirmed as the tournament was officially launched in London on Wednesday.

Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said: “This will be the first time that ‘The Red Wall’ – our passionate Wales fans – will experience a major international tournament on home soil.

“It’s a truly historic occasion that will unite communities, inspire future generations and showcase the very best of Welsh football and culture on the world stage.”

Unlike in previous Euros, host nations will have to qualify for the 2028 tournament, however, they would be guaranteed to play their group games on home turf if they do so directly.

The four host nations will each be in separate qualifying groups, with two spots also allocated to the highest-ranked of those sides who don’t make it from their various qualification routes.

The quarter-finals will be held at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Glasgow’s Hampden Park and Wembley – which was also used as a semi-final and final venue in 1996, and for the delayed 2020 edition.

Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, where the Three Lions would play their opening group game if they qualify directly, before switching to Wembley, is one of five other stadiums being used in England.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Villa Park, Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium and St James’ Park in Newcastle are the others that will be utilised across the 51 matches overall.