Few NFL franchises have truly embraced the International Series quite like the San Francisco 49ers.
By the end of the 2026-27 season, they will have competed in four different continents outside of North America, with Australia (or Oceania if you prefer) joining Asia and Europe as stamps on their passport.
The 49ers have now also confirmed a return to Mexico during 2026… but could their final destination of the campaign be Super Bowl LXI in Inglewood, California?
A Long Wait
Is it really 32 years since San Francisco won the Super Bowl?
They’ve come very close in recent times, of course, like in that heartbreaking defeat to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVIII.
The big game will return to Californian soil in 2027, and the NFL betting odds pitch the 49ers, who would love to be there, it goes without saying, as a +1900 chance to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
A more tantalizing Super Bowl bet may be the Seattle Seahawks (+750), Los Angeles Rams (+800), or the Buffalo Bills (+1200), but the 49ers’ postseason consistency – they’ve reached the playoffs in four of the last five seasons – surely has to count for something.
They will head into the 2026-27 campaign with mild confidence; despite that wide-margin defeat to the Seahawks in the playoffs back in January.
Persevered through it all.
— ESPN (@espn) February 6, 2026
Christian McCaffrey wins Comeback Player of the Year 👏 pic.twitter.com/MnpId6fXhb
Christian McCaffrey is back! He won the Comeback Player of the Year in 2025 after shaking off a series of career-threatening injuries, and the 29-year-old is evidently keen to make up for lost time – his haul of 2,126 scrimmage yards was the highest of any 49ers’ player in two decades.
If they can keep Brock Purdy fit, San Francisco have a quarterback with elite potential on their hands, while George Kittle remains a deadly poacher in and around the endzone.
Find Purdy some classy pass targets beyond just McCaffrey in the Draft to boost their offense, and then Kyle Shanahan and his staff can set about working on a defense that yielded 22.7 points per game, on average, in 2025-26.
Perennially knocking on the door, can the 49ers finally smash through it at Super Bowl LXI?
A Long Way from Home
Before they can even think of a trip to the SoFi Stadium in February 2027, the 49ers will first have to collect a stack of air miles.
It was announced earlier in 2026 that they will feature in the first ever NFL game in Australia: Los Angeles Rams their opponents at the 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground on an as-yet-unconfirmed date in September.
Opponent? Locked in 🔒@RamsNFL will face the @49ers in Australia’s first-ever NFL game for points at the ‘G later this year! pic.twitter.com/XlHpc7hQFM
— Melbourne Cricket Ground (@MCG) February 6, 2026
As if that long haul trip wasn’t enough, San Francisco will have a second appointment on the International Series this coming season. Their opponents and the date of the game are as yet unknown, but it will definitely take place in Mexico City at Estadio Banorte – better known to some as the Estadio Azteca.
The 49ers played at the same venue back in 2022, trouncing the Cardinals 38-10, so they will be hoping that proves to be a good omen in a year in which Super Bowl glory is somewhere at the back of their collective mind.
