After months of speculation, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin for the NFL’s first regular season game in Ireland. The game will take place in Week 4, September 28, at 9:30 AM/EST with the Steelers serving as the home team. The news was officially announced on Good Morning Football Tuesday morning.
It will be the second international game of the NFL’s 2025 season following the Week One opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil. Minnesota will spend back-to-back weeks overseas, also playing a Week 5 London game against the Cleveland Browns.
The Green Bay Packers were speculated as the Steelers’ opponent for months. Ultimately, Pittsburgh will face a different NFC North team. Ostensibly, the Steelers and league preferred to keep the Packers’ game in Pittsburgh on the belief Aaron Rodgers will sign and face his former team.
Today’s news means the Steelers’ two most recent international games will have come against the Vikings. Pittsburgh’s previous overseas game occurred in 2013, a 34-27 London loss to Minnesota. In the years since the game, QB Ben Roethlisberger and others have outlined the Steelers’ late arrival led to jet lag and a tired Pittsburgh team for kickoff. Pittsburgh will look to be better prepared this time around.
This year’s matchup will mark the second-ever NFL game in Ireland. The Steelers and Chicago Bears played a preseason game in 1997.
Pittsburgh was selected for the game thanks to the franchise’s Irish roots. A core part of the Rooney family’s heritage, the late Dan Rooney served as US Ambassador from 2009-2012, the first one to visit all 32 Ireland counties.
The Steelers-Vikings game is one of seven international games the league will play this year. The NFL has quickly expanded its global reach. After holding annual games in London the last decade, the league has recently expanded to Germany and Brazil. New locations in 2025 include Ireland and Spain with a game in Australia slated for 2026.
The Vikings will stick around for another international game the week after their Ireland game versus the Steelers in a London game against the Cleveland Browns.
The Ireland game figures to feature a sold-out crowd. Croke Park has a capacity of over 82,000.
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