Saint Louis Cardinals to play NFL official match in Mexico City

The Cardinals are again scheduled to play a regular-season game in Mexico City, the NFL announced Monday, after a planned game there in 2020 was canceled because of the pandemic.

The opponent, date, and time are yet to be announced, but it will be played at Estadio Azteca — the same place the Cardinals “hosted” a game in 2005 in the first NFL regular-season game outside the United States.

While the 2020 game was a necessary concession after the Valley and State Farm Stadium were awarded the Super Bowl after the 2022 season, the NFL no longer requires teams that host Super Bowls to give up a home game for an international date. However, as part of the league’s expansion to a 17-game regular season, teams now have a requirement to play at least one neutral-site game internationally on a rotating basis.

The Cardinals still have eight home games and eight regular road games this season.

Whomever the Cardinals play in Mexico, it will come from the team’s 2022 home opponents: Seahawks, 49ers, Rams, Chiefs, Chargers, Buccaneers, Saints, Eagles, and Patriots.

The last time the Cards played in Mexico, they beat the 49ers, 31-14, in front of a then-NFL record crowd of 103,467 at the Azteca Stadium.