NFL announces dates, kickoff times and matchups for nine 2026 international games

The NFL on Wednesday published the dates, kickoff times and matchups for all nine of its 2026 international regular-season games, setting a record slate across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums. The league said the schedule includes first regular-season games in Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro and Paris, while returning to London, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City. Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, major events and international, called it the league’s “most expansive and ambitious international slate yet.” The full 2026 regular-season schedule is scheduled for release Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. ### Which game opens the international schedule? Sept. 10 will bring the first international game of the season, when the San Francisco 49ers play the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. The NFL listed kickoff for 8:35 p.m. ET on Sept. 10, which it said corresponds to 10:35 a.m. local time on Sept. 11 in Melbourne. (media.nfl.com) March 26 was when the league had already disclosed that Melbourne would host the 49ers and Rams as part of the opening week of the 2026 season. Wednesday’s release added the formal kickoff time and placed the game at the front of the international slate. ### Which cities are getting first-time regular-season games? (media.nfl.com) Rio de Janeiro will host Baltimore against Dallas on Sept. 27 at Maracanã Stadium, in what the NFL said will be the first regular-season game in Rio and the third regular-season NFL game in Brazil overall. The league previously staged games in São Paulo, according to its release. (operations.nfl.com) Paris will host Pittsburgh against New Orleans on Oct. 25 at Stade de France, marking the first NFL regular-season game in France. Melbourne is also a first-time regular-season market, giving the 2026 slate three new cities in one season. ### How does the London run line up this year? (media.nfl.com) London will stage three straight Sundays in October, with Indianapolis facing Washington on Oct. 4 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Philadelphia meeting Jacksonville on Oct. 11 at Tottenham, and Jacksonville returning on Oct. 18 to face Houston at Wembley Stadium. The league said the Jaguars’ Oct. 18 appearance will be their 16th game in London. (media.nfl.com) Two months before the full slate was unveiled, the NFL had already said Jacksonville and Washington would be part of the 2026 London games. Wednesday’s release filled in the opponents, dates and venues. ### What comes after London? Oct. 25 shifts the schedule to Paris for Steelers-Saints, and Nov. 8 sends Cincinnati and Atlanta to Madrid’s Bernabéu Stadium for the NFL’s second straight regular-season game in the Spanish capital. (media.nfl.com) The NFL then closes its European leg in Munich, where New England will face Detroit at FC Bayern Munich Arena. (operations.nfl.com) May 13 was also when the league said the international schedule would conclude in Mexico City on Nov. 22, with Minnesota playing San Francisco at Estadio Banorte. The NFL said that game will mark its return to Mexico for the first time since 2022 and will be the sixth regular-season game hosted in the country since 2005. (media.nfl.com) ### Where do betting lines stand? ESPN’s NFL odds page on Thursday said it includes opening lines and current spread, moneyline and totals for NFL games. The page did not display the individual international matchups in the search snippets reviewed, but the listing confirmed ESPN was carrying NFL betting markets tied to the schedule release. Thursday at 8 p.m. (media.nfl.com) ET is the next scheduled milestone, when the NFL says it will release the full 2026 regular-season schedule on NFL Network, ESPN2, the ESPN App and NFL+. The league’s schedule page said additional game windows had been announced earlier in the week, including the Week 1 Sunday night opener and Thanksgiving games. (operations.nfl.com) (espn.com)