The Minnesota Vikings get a double dip of international play in 2025 with trips to both Ireland and Britain as the NFL features a record seven overseas kickoffs this season, including forays into Germany and Spain.
The Vikings will play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park in Dublin on Sept. 28 in Ireland's first NFL regular season game, and then they'll fly over to London to face the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a week later on Oct. 5.
“Our experiences in London have always been memorable, so to return in 2025 as the first team to play in back-to-back international games in different countries was something we could not pass up,” Vikings owner Mark Wilf said.
The Vikings are 8-0 in international games, including 4-0 in the regular season. The Vikings and Browns also played in London in 2017, the last time the Vikings were scheduled to visit Cleveland. That means they’re going to go 24 years between trips to Cleveland, with the next one in 2033.
The matchups were revealed on Tuesday by the NFL as part of a series of announcements of notable games on each of the league’s broadcasters ahead of the full schedule release on Wednesday night.
That's also when the league will announce the Los Angeles Chargers' opponent for its first international game of the season in Brazil, on Sept. 5 at Corinthians Stadium in Sao Paulo. That's where the Philadelphia Eagles began their Super Bowl quest last year with a game against the Green Bay Packers on opening weekend.
The Brazilian game will be streamed for free to a worldwide audience exclusively on YouTube and YouTube TV, marking the platform's debut as a live NFL broadcaster. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and YouTube chief business officer Mary Ellen Coe will announce the Chargers' opponent Wednesday at YouTube’s 2025 Brandcast upfront event at Lincoln Center in New York.
YouTube and the NFL also announced a multi-year deal for the annual Super Bowl flag football game featuring creators and artists with additional international contests following the success of the inaugural game in February that drew more than 6 million live views.
In other international games, the Denver Broncos visit the New York Jets on Oct. 12 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London; the Los Angeles Rams visit the Jacksonville Jaguars a week later at Wembley Stadium in London; the Atlanta Falcons visit the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 9 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin; and the Washington Commanders visit the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 16 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
This marks the 14th game in London for the Jaguars, as part of the team’s multi-year commitment to playing games in Britain. Overall, the NFL has played 39 regular season games in London.
The six international matchups that were announced will all be on NFL Network and streamed on NFL+.
The Colts-Falcons game in Berlin is the fifth regular season NFL game in Germany. Previous games have been played in Munich and Frankfurt.
Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president of club business and league events, said the largest-ever slate of international games "underscores our collective commitment to global growth as we continue our journey to becoming a truly global sport.”
Also Tuesday, the NFL revealed on “Good Morning America” that the Super Bowl champion Eagles will play the Packers in Green Bay on Monday Night Football on Nov. 10. The rest of the MNF lineup will be announced Wednesday.
The Week 10 game at Lambeau Field pits the teams at the center of the tush push debate this offseason. Green Bay has proposed a ban on the Eagles' short-yardage tactic, calling for the NFL to outlaw the quarterback sneak where teammates push him from behind. The issue is expected to be debated at the league's spring meeting next week.
AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - A view from inside Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ken Maguire, File)
FILE - Sun filters through the stadium as cheerleaders line up before an NFL football game between Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) in action against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) during the second half of an NFL football game, Dec. 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, file)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
