Teams confirmed for the 2026 NFL Madrid International Game at the Bernabéu

The second official NFL game in Spain is now confirmed. The venue will be once again, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and the home team, the Atlanta Falcons, which had already been announced. Earlier today the visiting team, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the date of the game, November 8th were both announced by the NFL.

Stars like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, two of the best quarterbacks and wide receivers, respectively, in the game today, will take to the Bernabéu pitch in 180 days, during the ninth week of the regular season.

Super Bowl finalists in 2022 (losing to the Los Angeles Rams) and without a championship ring in their 58-year history, the Bengals are one of the most exciting teams in the current NFL, brimming with offensive talent and high-quality players. However, the last few years haven’t been very positive for the team coached by Zac Taylor, who have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and are coming off a 6-11 record this past season. Injuries, defensive issues, and a gaping hole on the offensive line have prevented the progress of what was once a promising project five years ago, when Burrow and Chase joined the team.

Interestingly, neither of the two participants in the Madrid Game, the Falcons and the Bengals, is one of the three franchises with international marketing rights in Spain.

The Miami Dolphins already competed at the Bernabéu in 2025 against the Washington Commanders, and the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs were the other two potential opponents for Atlanta at the Madrid stadium. However, although their desire to play in Spain exists, they opted to wait another season to play there as the home team... or in another venue, such as Barcelona. Currently, their contract with the NFL is for two years plus one additional year, with one game guaranteed in 2026 and another in 2027, and the possibility of extending it through 2028.

The chosen date is November 8, in the ninth week of the regular season, very similar to the 2025 Dolphins-Commanders game (November 16). That time it was in the middle of an international break, but this time it will be right before a week and a half of international games (November 9-17). Therefore, Real Madrid will have to request not to play at home that weekend in their stadium so that the Bengals-Falcons game can take place. The Bengals have faced each other 15 times in the past, with the head-to-head record favoring Cincinnati 10-5.

International Games confirmed

Madrid will be part of a historic NFL season, as for the first time there will be nine international games in a single season. In addition to the Spanish capital, there will be games in Melbourne (49ers vs. Rams on September 10), Rio de Janeiro (Cowboys vs. Ravens on September 27), three in London (the Commanders on October 4 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, another Jaguars game there on October 11, and another Jacksonville game at Wembley against the Texans on October 18), one in Paris (Saints vs. Browns on October 25), one in Munich (the Lions on November 15), and the last in Mexico City (the 49ers on November 22). In the next few hours, the league will finalize the details of these nine matches abroad, bringing the total number of international matches in the competition’s history to 71.

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