England Supporters Club

England head to Manchester and Sunderland in Euro build-up

Posted by Team England at 12:06 on Tuesday 22 December 2015

England will face Turkey in Manchester, Australia in Sunderland and Portugal at Wembley ahead of this summer's Euro 2016 finals.

The Three Lions take on Turkey at the home of Manchester City on Sunday 22 May, with a kick-off time to be confirmed, before heading to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light to face Australia on Friday 27 May at 7.45pm.

England's final friendly ahead of the tournament will be against fellow finalists Portugal visit Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Thursday 2 June with a kick-off time of 7.45pm.

Tickets will first go on sale to England Supporters Club members from Monday 14 March. 

England manager Roy Hodgson said: "I’m happy that we have been able to secure three challenging opponents that will help us prepare for the tournament. "Since the draw in Paris last December, The FA has worked hard to put together a programme of games around the country and we’re looking forward to playing in the north-west and north-east before the final home game at Wembley."

The FA has been in dialogue with UEFA since the Euro 2016 Draw and has successfully lobbied the tournament organisers to play more than one qualified opponent from the finals in the build-up to the tournament.

Hodgson has agreed a timetable with the players and their clubs to best maintain performance levels in the lead-up to the tournament.

He will name his Euro 2016 squad before the end of the Premier League season and the players will meet up at St. George’s Park shortly after the final weekend’s games.

There will be brief periods of rest after each warm-up game with a few days off following the final match.

The squad will gather on Monday 6 June and fly to France, where the team base is in Chantilly, just north of Paris.

Any players involved in The Emirates FA Cup Final will not take part in the first England warm-up match against Australia.

Similarly, any players still involved in the Europa League or the Champions League final will follow a different path – as has happened in previous years.

These three England fixtures bolster an already exciting schedule that includes Europe’s elite nations.

Having faced Spain and France in November last year, Hodgson’s side will travel to Berlin to play Germany on Saturday 26 March before hosting the Netherlands in a Breast Cancer Care International at Wembley on Tuesday 29 March.

England start their Euro 2016 campaign against Russia in Marseille on Saturday 11 June, before facing Wales in Lens on Thursday 16 June, and Slovakia in Saint-Etienne on Monday 20 June.