Wembley to host Euro 2020 semifinals and final

UEFA President Michel Platini announces that London will stage the final and semifials of the UEFA Euro 2020 European soccer championships, during the UEFA Euro 2020 Hosts Announcement Ceremony at the Espace Hippomene in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, September 19, 2014. The UEFA Euro 2020 tournament will be held in thirteen cities in thirteen different European countries. (AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Salvatore Di Nolfi) UEFA President Michel Platini announces that London will stage the final and semifials of the UEFA Euro 2020 European soccer championships, during the UEFA Euro 2020 Hosts Announcement Ceremony at the Espace Hippomene in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, September 19, 2014. The UEFA Euro 2020 tournament will be held in thirteen cities in thirteen different European countries. (AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Salvatore Di Nolfi)

By Associated Press September 19, 2014 3 min read

GENEVA (AP) – Wembley Stadium will host the semifinals and final of the first continent-wide European Championship in 2020, ending a run of bidding failures by England.

England, which failed in the quest to host the 2006 and 2018 World Cups, was given the final by UEFA on Friday after Germany withdrew Munich’s bid just before the vote.

“I know the party side of London, the way the English welcome people,” UEFA President Michel Platini said. “Wembley will doubtless live up to the responsibility.”

England hosted Euro ’96 with the final at the old Wembley. The venue has since been rebuilt into a 90,000-capacity stadium, and staged two Champions League finals in the past three years.

Now the target for England, which lost to Germany in the Euro ’96 semifinals at Wembley, is to ensure it reaches the last four again in 2020.