London, Jul 16 (IANS): The England football team will play Wales in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium on October 8.

"The Three Lions will return to Wembley for the first time in 2020 with an international friendly against Wales in October.

"Gareth Southgate's seniors have added the fixture to their autumn schedule, which will now see us host our neighbours on Thursday 8 October (8pm kick-off)," an official statement on the FA's website said.

The game will be held behind closed doors, the statement on thefa.com said.

"Our men's seniors return to action this autumn to kick-start the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League campaign, as well as a further two internationals scheduled as part of triple headers in October and November.

"And Ryan Giggs' team will be the opponents at the start of the October window with England set for their first home fixture in 11 months owing to the COVID-19 pandemic," it added.

During the fixture, the England team will 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 Peters.