England's friendly with Wales set to be played behind closed doors

| 16 July 2020

England's friendly with Wales set to be played behind closed doors

The Three Lions will also take on Belgium and Denmark that month.

England and Wales will meet in a friendly at Wembley on October 8, with the fixture set to take place behind closed doors.

The home nations international will be the first England game at the national stadium since the coronavirus outbreak.

Despite the match being almost three months away, the Football Association has said it is scheduled to go ahead in an empty stadium – much like the Premier League and English Football League fixtures since the season restarted in June.

"Home fixtures will be staged at Wembley Stadium with away venues still to be confirmed and all fixtures are scheduled to be played behind closed doors for the foreseeable future," the statement announcing the Wales fixture read.

All set for a busy October at @wembleystadium.

The #ThreeLions will take on Wales before #NationsLeague games against Belgium and Denmark. pic.twitter.com/Jw7NMKJud9

— England (@England) July 16, 2020

"We will continue to adhere to government guidelines and liaise with relevant authorities. Supporters will be notified should arrangements change and tickets become available."

It will be the first meeting of the two nations since Daniel Sturridge hit a last-minute winner as England won 2-1 in their Euro 2016 group-stage clash.

The Three Lions will follow the Wales game with Nations League matches at Wembley against Belgium on October 11 and Denmark three days later.

Gareth Southgate's side are next in action in September, away to Iceland and then Denmark in the Nations League, while Wales travel to Finland and host Bulgaria during the same international break.

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See you in October, @fawales! 👊

A post shared by England (@england) on Jul 16, 2020 at 4:07am PDT

Ryan Giggs will then take on England for the first time as a manager when the teams meet in October – with the game scheduled to kick-off at 8pm.

The FA also announced the occasion will be used to pay tributes to former players who have died since the last England game at Wembley.

"The fixture will also allow the national team to formally pay tribute to England greats who have passed away over the last 12 months, notably 1966 World Cup-winning heroes Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter, Peter Bonetti and Martin Peter," the statement confirmed.