The San Francisco 49ers will bookend the NFL’s largest ever international slate, playing their 2026 season opener in Melbourne against the Los Angeles Rams in a matchup of NFC West Division rivals and facing the NFC North’s Minnesota Vikings in Mexico City in the 11th week of the schedule.
The NFL had long ago announced the Melbourne matchup, its first game in Australia, and completed the unveiling Wednesday morning, the day before the full 2026 schedule for all 32 teams in the league 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 multicity road trip with a game in Dublin in the fourth week followed by a game in London a week later. 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 the fifth week at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 11, then face the Houston Texans in an AFC South matchup 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.