Wales and England will meet at Principality Stadium if paired in Nations League
Wales are set to play England at the Principality Stadium if the pair are drawn in the same Nations League group on Thursday.
Welsh rugby’s 74,500-seater home has acted as a rare host for the national football team in recent times, with Wales having played there only once since 2011 – a 4-1 friendly defeat to Spain in October 2018.
Wales have used Cardiff City Stadium to good effect, turning the 33,280 seater arena into something of a fortress when qualifying for the 2022 World Cup and European Championships in 2016 and 2020.
But the Football Association of Wales want Craig Bellamy’s side to familiarise themselves with Principality Stadium ahead of Euro 2028.
Cardiff will stage six matches at Euro 2028, including the first match of the tournament, and Wales’ three group games if they qualify.
FAW chief executive Noel Mooney told the Press Association: “We’ve got to sharpen our mind as we’re hosting the Euros in the Principality Stadium and think about the right time to play there.
“There’s no two ways about it. We’re not going to turn up like tourists for the opening match of Euro 2028.
“When we do play there hasn’t been decided yet. But logic would tell you that if you’ve got a very big country, for example England in the Nations League, we’ll go there.”
The next set of Nations League group games will be played in two windows, the first between September 24 and October 6, 2026, and the second from November 12-17.
Playing football at Principality Stadium on the November dates is unlikely as it would probably clash with the Wales rugby team’s autumn matches.
Wales are among League A’s fourth seeds in Brussels, while England and Belgium are in Pot 3.
Italy and the Netherlands are the big-hitters in Pot 2, with France, Germany, Spain and Portugal the top seeds.
Mooney said: “There’s a different jeopardy to Nations League than there is to qualifiers, because you don’t lose your competitive edge around qualifiers.
“We’ll talk to the relevant stakeholders, the management team and the supporters.
“I think that consultation should happen sooner rather than later, so people have a clear vision of what games we’re going to play at the Principality Stadium before we go to Euro 2028 because you can’t leave it too late either.
“You want the players to be used to the stadium before they go there.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Will someone please start a petition to change the name of this Stadium?!!!
Completely agree that it’s unfortunate, but it’s down to a sponsorship deal with the building society.
Yes I see it has just been renewed for another 3 years. I guess it could be worse, it could be another 10 years. The WRU are oblivious to the implications of this name, and although my original comment has been down voted I’m confident that many still refer to this stadium as the Millennium Stadium anyway.
The Welsh football team have always played better at the Cardiff City Stadium. We should not be changing the venue just because were up against England.