The NFL's ever-expanding international influence has grown to nine total games in foreign countries for the 2026 season.
Teams have doubled-up on international games in recent seasons (such as the Vikings playing in both Ireland and England last season), but there will likely be no more than two such instances of this happening in 2026.
With 18 total international assignments available, it's therefore probable that half of all NFL teams will be tasked with a trip overseas in 2026. And since it's the NFC's turn to host internationally this year, that alone increases Green Bay's chances of playing outside of the United States.
**Who is going overseas in 2026?**
We already know the first international fixture of the year — the 49ers will travel to Australia to face the Rams early in the season. Elsewhere the Cowboys and Saints were confirmed to be playing 'host' to international games in Rio de Janeiro and Paris respectively.
The Packers will play the Cowboys in 2026, but that's a home fixture for the Packers, so Green Bay are officially out of the running for a return to Brazil two years after their opening-week loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The Packers are scheduled to play a road game against the Saints though. While no official opponent has been confirmed for the Saints trip to Paris, there are multiple reports that it will be the Cleveland Browns crossing over to complete the matchup.
While likely accurate, I would still express some caution with these reports. We witnessed a ton of speculation that the Packers were the team poised to face the Steelers in Ireland last season. That wasn't the case, for one reason or another, and the Vikings were selected instead.
**Who and Where would the Packers play?**
The Packers hold international marketing rights in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Germany. The latter pair will host a combined four of the nine international games, and so this is probably where we are looking first when it comes to the Packers.
You can never say never with the NFL's international demands for its 32 clubs, but we are going to start ruling out some potential international games. The league won't ask the Rams to travel outside of America twice when they're already undertaking a trip to the land down under.
It's equally unlikely that the Cowboys would be asked to double-up overseas, and taking that fixture outside of Lambeau would be sacrilegious anyway.
I'm also tentatively going to rule out any of the four matchups against the Lions and Bears being taken away from home soil, given the rivalries and potential for these teams in 2026. While Packers-Vikings is a much more likely candidate for a matchup in Europe, I'd be shocked if the league asked Minnesota to pack their bags again having spent nearly half of a month abroad last year.
Green Bay also plays on the road against the Jets and Patriots, neither of which can be played internationally due to the aforementioned conference rules.
Along with the already-removed Saints, we have now ruled out eleven of Green Bay's seventeen matchups for international duty.
That leaves us with six games:
* vs. Falcons
* vs. Panthers
* vs. Bills
* vs. Dolphins
* vs. Texans
* at Buccaneers
Yep, just one possible road assignment by my book. Again, never say never on the league sending Packers @ Lions to Germany, but I'd be really surprised.
**Who is most likely out of these six?**
Of the six opponents listed, the Falcons and Dolphins both played in Europe last season. It's not out of the question for teams to play abroad in back-to-back seasons though — the Rams will be doing so this year.
I imagine the Packers (and their fans) wouldn't take kindly to losing out on the Bills game at Lambeau Field, and would likely put up enough opposition to protect that home game. But pretty much all of the other games listed are on the table.
The Texans in particular haven't played internationally in five seasons! As an AFC team, their only potential overseas opponents are the Packers, Commanders and Eagles. Washington played in Madrid last year meanwhile Philadelphia sacrificed a home game (in São Paulo) more recently than the Packers.
Compounded with the fact that there is no rivalry or close geographical ties between the teams, moving Packers-Texans to Europe makes a lot of sense for the league, whether you like it or not.
**Is a Packers game in Mexico on the table?**
Yes. Ten NFL teams have international marketing stakes in Mexico and the Packers aren't one of them. That being said, teams have hosted in countries where they don't have marketing rights in the past, and crucially, of the four NFC teams with rights, three are already fixed for overseas games (Rams, 49ers, Cowboys).
The only outstanding team of the quartet, the Arizona Cardinals, were the last team to play host in Mexico, and the league doesn't love repeating international home teams not named the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While it may feel uncharacteristic, the Packers have a huge Mexican fanbase. They would become the first NFL team West of Phoenix and North of Oakland to play host in Mexico City.
**What's my prediction?**
I have three regular predictions and one bold prediction which most US-based readers will absolutely hate and probably for good reason.
My best guess would be the Packers playing host to the Houston Texans in either Munich or London.
My second guess would be Packers @ Buccaneers becoming a road game in Munich, where both teams hold international marketing rights.
My bold guess is that we see the Packers double up in Europe in 2026, first playing host in London to either the Texans or Dolphins (marketing rights holder) and then one week later travelling to Munich to face the Buccaneers _OR_ the Detroit Lions (yes, seriously) in Germany.
The Lions are rights holders in Germany with a huge stake in the growth of the game in Central Europe. Star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been heavily involved with growing the Lions brand in Germany over the past couple of years.
The league's request to double-up on international games for the Packers would be appeased by avoiding a raucous divisional environment in Ford Field, along with a nicely placed November bye week which Germany teams typically get.
It's no secret that the league has real ambitions for a 16-game international schedule in the near future meaning every team plays an even eight home games.
What's unclear however is if that change will come before the league almost inevitably pushes towards 18 total regular season games, throwing the whole system out of whack once again.