Rams vs. 49ers Announced for Historic Australia Game on 2026 NFL Schedule in New Video

One year after the NFL announced a game during the 2026 season would take place in Australia, the matchup has been confirmed.

The Los Angeles Rams, who were named the designated home team during the original announcement, revealed on Thursday they will take on the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC West showdown at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

As part of the league's continued international expansion, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced in February 2025 plans to host a regular-season game in Australia.

The Rams were chosen as the designated home team since Australia is considered one of their international home marketing areas.

Next season will see the NFL play a league-record nine international games. London will host three games, with one each in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain, France and Mexico.

Goodell has said the hope is that the NFL eventually expands the international schedule to 16 games so that all 32 teams will play one game outside of the United States every season:

"I've said many times 16 games, so that every team is playing a regular season game every season. I think that's an important mark for us to go for. I think we're well on our way, with the desire we have from our side, but also the desire for people to have this in their communities, and some of the greatest cities in the world are asking to do this."

This will mark the league's first-ever game in Australia, regular season or preseason. A date and start time for the 49ers-Rams matchup will likely be revealed when the full schedule is announced in the spring.

The Rams and 49ers have played 154 times overall dating back to 1950. San Francisco leads the all-time series with a 79-72-3 record. The teams split two head-to-head meetings during the 2025 regular season, with each winning on the other's home turf.

Both the Rams and 49ers finished this season with identical 12-5 records and made the playoffs. At least one of them has made the postseason every year since 2017.