After a three-year hiatus, the NFL is returning to Mexico City in 2026 when the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings face off Nov. 22 at Estadio Banorte (formerly Estadio Azteca). The game will mark the last of nine international games the NFL will play in the 2026 regular season, which also includes an intriguing Week 10 showdown in Munich between the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots.
The international slate also includes the league’s first trips to Melbourne, Australia, Rio de Janeiro and Paris, three games in London and a second straight year in Madrid.
Here’s a look at the complete 2026 international schedule:
Wk.MatchupDateCityNetwork1 Thursday, Sept. 10
8:35 p.m.
Melbourne, Australia Netflix3 Sunday, Sept. 27
4:25 p.m.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil CBS/Paramount4 Sunday, Oct. 4
9:30 a.m.
London NFL Network5 Sunday, Oct. 11
9:30 a.m.
London NFL Network6 Sunday, Oct. 18
9:30 a.m.
London NFL Network7 Sunday, Oct. 25
9:30 a.m.
Paris NFL Network9 Sunday, Nov. 8
9:30 a.m.
Madrid NFL Network10 Sunday, Nov. 15
9:30 a.m.
Munich, Germany Fox11 Sunday, Nov. 22
8:20 p.m.
Mexico City NBC/Peacock
Times in Eastern.
The NFL’s history with international regular-season games dates to 2005, when the Arizona Cardinals beat the 49ers at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Since then, the NFL has been expanding its global presence. Wembley Stadium in London has been the most common international venue, but the league has also played games in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Ireland and Spain. This season will mark the first time the NFL will play in France and Australia.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell previously said he envisions the league playing 16 games in international markets if the NFL moves to an 18-game schedule.
“Our goal is to be a global sport,” Goodell said. “We want to have our game played on a global basis, and we want to bring our game to a global audience. So we’re looking at markets that we’d like to be in, that maybe we haven’t gotten a fan development.”
Long trip awaits Ravens
Per their lease agreement with the Maryland Stadium Authority, the Ravens are not allowed to play home games outside of Baltimore. Thus, they’ll head to Brazil to play the Cowboys as the visitors. It will be the team’s third international game in franchise history — the other two were in London — and they’ve been the road team in all of them.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson is extremely popular globally, so it’s hardly surprising the Ravens were chosen as the Cowboys’ opponent. Still, the Ravens probably would have preferred to keep the game in Dallas, where they’ve won two of three meetings against the Cowboys and are 6-1 all-time.
A long trip in Week 3 poses an interesting question. Will the Ravens be OK with a Week 4 bye or will they request it for later in the season? — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat writer
Dak Prescott set to play first career international game
The Cowboys will play an international game for the first time since 2014. While owner and general manager Jerry Jones has spoken positively about the Week 3 matchup, there’s no question he’d prefer that the Cowboys weren’t giving up a home game in the process. Quarterback Dak Prescott said he’s excited about his first NFL trip abroad.
“Being 10 years in the league and I hadn’t played an international game, I’m excited for the travel,” Prescott told the team website. “Just excited to go and play with the Cowboys across the world, just give the fans in Rio and Brazil a chance to see us in person, and just super excited for the experience.”
The Cowboys defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-17 in London in 2014. During that trip, Dallas spent an entire week in London. That’s not expected this time around. The Cowboys will likely travel on Thursday before playing the Ravens on Sunday. — Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer
Commanders prioritizing international presence
The Washington Commanders’ meeting with the Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London will be Washington’s third International Series game and its second game in London after playing the Bengals to a tie at Wembley Stadium in 2016. Last year, the Commanders fell to the Dolphins in overtime at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.
Like other NFL franchises, Washington has prioritized broadening its international presence.
“You see European sports fans that are beginning to find their way to declaring, ‘I am a Commanders fan,’ or ‘I am a Steelers fan,’” Commanders president Mark Clouse told The Athletic in November, when it first reported the team would play abroad again in 2026. “That, I think, is an interesting opportunity for our reach, to begin to expand on a much more global level. And that means everything for merchandise to social media and how we’re able to attract sponsors that may have a more global footprint. It becomes extremely powerful.” — Nicki Jhabvala, Commanders beat writer
Colts look to maintain recent international success
The Colts’ first regular-season game in London occurred in 2016, when they faced the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. Indianapolis and then-franchise QB Andrew Luck lost 30-27.
This year’s game marks the Colts’ second international matchup in as many years and the third in four years. Indianapolis defeated the Patriots in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Falcons in Berlin in 2023 and 2025, respectively.
Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones has played in three international games, one last year in his first season with the Colts and two as a member of the New York Giants. This will be his second trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after leading the Giants to a win over the Green Bay Packers in that venue in 2022. — James Boyd, Colts beat writer
The Colts play overseas for the third time in four years after trips to Germany in 2023 and 2025. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Jaguars remain a consistent international presence
No team has embraced the NFL’s international ambitions harder than Jacksonville.
Annual visitors since 2013, the COVID-19 season aside, this will be the third time in four seasons they play back-to-back games in London, with 2026 taking their tally to 16 games (12 at Wembley, four at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium).
Due to the $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Field — the stadium’s capacity reduced to 42,507 in 2026 — this is the first time a franchise will play consecutive “home” games overseas.
Both are repeat matchups of Wembley games: the Eagles beat the Jaguars 24-18 in 2018 and Jacksonville lost 26-3 to AFC South rival Houston the following year.
The Jags — 7-7 all-time in London — went 13-4 in 2025 and hope familiarity with foreign fields will be an early-season springboard. They did just that in 2023, beating the Falcons and Buffalo Bills in consecutive weeks; a year later, they lost to the Chicago Bears and beat the Patriots.
Last season, they were trounced by the Rams at Wembley before winning nine of their last 10 games.
“London is always a blast for our players and fans, and that will be especially true this year with two home games over consecutive weekends in October and against teams that represent the best the NFL has to offer,” Jaguars team owner Shad Khan said. “We had a very good run ourselves last season and appreciate the support and backing we got from our Union Jax fans throughout the season and into the playoffs. Now we look ahead to returning to London as defending AFC South champions and connecting with fans in London and throughout the UK, as well as hosting fans coming in from Jacksonville and the U.S. for one of the best experiences of their lives.” — Peter Carline, senior editor
Eagles happy to play away from Philadelphia, as the road team
This will be the Eagles’ first game abroad since they played in Brazil to open the 2024 season. It will be their first game in London since 2018 — the last time they had a road game scheduled against Jacksonville. That was a 24-18 Eagles victory in Wembley Stadium.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has been interested in playing an international game this season — as long as the Eagles were the road team.
“We are not going to give up a home game,” Lurie said. “We just did that in Brazil. We did it early, so we won’t be part of a cycle that has to give away a home game in the near future, which was part of our plan of being in São Paulo. We are openly available to be an away team. We think it’s great for spreading the Eagles … brand.”
The one place the Eagles aren’t spreading their brand? Jacksonville. With this game in London, it means the Eagles haven’t played a regular-season game in Jacksonville since 2010. — Zach Berman, Eagles beat writer
Lions excited to go abroad for first time in 11 years
The Lions haven’t had an international game since the 2015 season, when they traveled to London to face the Chiefs and returned with a 45-10 loss in their carry-on. It’s a bit surprising it’s taken this long, given the draw the Lions have become in recent years. Not only were they due for one of these trips, after securing international marketing rights in Germany back in 2024, a game here sometime in the near future seemed logical — especially with star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown of German descent. Now it’s official. The Lions will travel to Munich to face the Patriots on Nov. 15, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. ET. Perhaps the Lions were hoping for an easier draw, but they’ll get the defending-AFC Champions instead, in a game originally slated to be played in Detroit.
Still, the Lions were thrilled to secure this game.
“I know a lot of other teams wanted to play in Germany,” Lions team president Rod Wood said in March. “There’s a number of teams that have marketing rights there. So, I was happy that it worked out that we got that market versus one of the other ones that we could have gone to. … We’ve got some marketing ideas that we’re putting into our budget. We’re gonna treat it like a pretty big deal from a fan-experience standpoint.” — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer
Patriots looking for some redemption in Germany
The Patriots worked hard to build a fan base in Germany, one of their designated countries, via the league’s global markets program.
However, their first game there in 2023 was a total flop. They lost 10-6 to the Indianapolis Colts in one of the worst games they’ve played in this century. In the fourth quarter, Mac Jones threw an interception, then was benched on the final drive and replaced by Bailey Zappe, who promptly threw an interception.
So this is now a chance at redemption, and an opportunity for Robert Kraft to bring a much more polished team to Germany, where they’ve built up a following, even if they are technically the road team in their November matchup against the Lions. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
49ers bar Broncos, Raiders in Mexico City game, land Vikings
Kyle Shanahan’s dream of getting revenge on Sean McVay by making the Rams go to Mexico City didn’t come to fruition. Instead, Shanahan’s 49ers will host the Vikings on “Sunday Night Football” on Nov. 22.
Because they’re the home team, the 49ers were able to bar two teams on their schedule. Their choices: the Broncos, because they didn’t want Denver to have an altitude advantage, and the Las Vegas Raiders, presumably because they’re also very popular south of the border.
The 49ers will likely practice in Colorado before the game, just as they did before a 38-10 win over the Cardinals in Mexico City in 2022. They’ll also arrive in Australia roughly a week before their Week 1 opener against the Rams in Melbourne, a game Shanahan is convinced McVay helped orchestrate to eliminate the 49ers’ crowd advantage at SoFi Stadium. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
Plenty of familiar faces in Vikings’ matchup against 49ers
This is a fascinating matchup for many reasons. First and foremost, the Vikings have beaten the 49ers twice in their two most recent matchups. Each game ended with a similar score. In 2023, Brian Flores’s defense forced two Brock Purdy interceptions, and Minnesota won, 22-17. In 2024, Purdy threw another and the Vikings won, 23-17. This game will feature a bevy of familiarity. Longtime 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings recently signed with the Vikings, and Minnesota already features running back Jordan Mason. Meanwhile, recently-fired Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah returned to San Francisco to work for one of his previous teams.
The Mexico City setting allows the Vikings to do what the business side loves: grow their brand elsewhere. It also prevents Minnesota from having to make another across-the-pond trip, which backfired last season when the team played back-to-back games in Dublin and London. — Alec Lewis, Vikings beat writer
