The San Francisco 49ers will bookend the NFL ‘s largest ever international slate, playing the 2026 season opener in Melbourne against the NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams and facing the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11 in Mexico City.
The league had long ago announced the Melbourne matchup, its first game in Australia, and completed the unveiling on Wednesday morning, the day before the full schedule for all 32 teams will be released. The 49ers will be the road team for the Thursday night game on Sept. 10 against the Rams on Netflix. That will actually take place on Friday morning in Melbourne.
In Mexico City, the 49ers will be the home team for a Sunday night game on Nov. 22 against the Vikings, who last year played the NFL’s first international multi-city road trip with a game in Dublin in Week 4 followed by a game in London in Week 5. The Vikings were the road team in both of those games last year, too.
With nine games, eight stadiums, seven cities and four continents, this year will feature the most games outside of the U.S. the league has ever staged. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said his goal is to get to 16 international games per season.
There are three games in London, the league’s most common international site, with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the first time moving consecutive home games abroad. They’ll play the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 11 and then face the AFC South rival Houston Texans in Week 6 at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 18. The Washington Commanders will be the home team at Tottenham on Oct. 4 when they face the Indianapolis Colts.
The New Orleans Saints will be the home team for the first game in Paris in Week 7, facing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 25. The Detroit Lions will be the home team in Munich in Week 10, facing the New England Patriots on Nov. 15.
As previously announced by the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys will be the home team in Rio De Janeiro against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 27, a Week 3 late afternoon game on CBS, and the Atlanta Falcons will be the home team in Madrid in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 8.
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