The NFL is slowly announcing its home teams for the 2026 international slate, including news this morning of the NFL’s return to Mexico City. With the San Francisco 49ers announced as one of the teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers are ruled out from playing a game there next season.
¡Ya se la saben! Los 49ers jugarán en la Ciudad de México este año.
Regresa lo que nunca se fue 🇲🇽🏈
NFL Mexico City Game
The 49ers are playing in Mexico City this year.
The game is back, but the truth is, we never left.
NFL Mexico City Game 🇲🇽🏈@NFL | @49ers | @49ersESP pic.twitter.com/x6DF7pAfEV
— NFL México (@nflmx) February 18, 2026
That makes two international games for the 49ers next year as they will travel to Melbourne, Australia to face the Los Angeles Rams in the country’s first-ever game. This also continues the trend of teams playing multiple international games in the same season, as the Minnesota Vikings did last season.
Here is a full list of the international markets hosting games next season along with the teams that have been announced so far. We can begin to narrow down the list of potential Steelers international games.
– Mexico City, Mexico: San Francisco 49ers– Madrid, Spain: TBD
– Melbourne, Australia: San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams
– Munich, Germany: TBD
– Paris, France: New Orleans Saints
– Rio, Brazil: Dallas Cowboys
– London, England: Jacksonville Jaguars
– London, England: TBD
– London, England: TBD
The Steelers could potentially play in Spain, Germany, France, or England next season with the Saints and Jaguars on their schedule. It’s not out of the question that they could host the game in Germany with marketing rights in the country. With Mexico already ruled out and no game being played in Ireland this year, Germany would make the most sense as either a home or away game for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh had its first international game in many years last season with a smashing success in Dublin, but the new normal will soon be for every team to play at least one international game every season as the NFL seeks to expand its global footprint.
With Mexico City ruled out in 2026, there is a strong possibility the Steelers will play a game there in 2027 or soon thereafter.
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