Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers set to clash in NFL’s first foray into South America

By Ben Church and Thomas Schlachter, CNN

(CNN) — There will be a unique backdrop to the NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, with the two squads set to hit the field in São Paulo, Brazil.

The Week 1 clash between two of the National Football Conference’s (NFC) playoff hopefuls will be played at the Neo Química Arena, home to Brazilian soccer team SC Corinthians, which can hold over 49,000 fans.

It will mark the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in South America, as well as the first time the NFL has played a game on Friday night of opening weekend in over 50 years.

The game comes as part of the NFL’s ever-expanding International Series, of which there will be five games abroad this season.

According to NFL.com, the league has 38 million fans in Brazil, where the sport is popular among younger fans thanks to a strong social media presence.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love said the team felt the excitement since landing in the country.

“I’m excited to be here. It’s an awesome experience, once in a lifetime experience, playing first ever NFL game here in Brazil,” he told reporters. “It’s been nothing but love since we got here. Fans were at the airport last night, they’re at the hotel, so definitely a lot of love and I’m excited to see what the atmosphere is like in the stadium tomorrow for the game.”

Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur added: “We’re really excited to be down here in Brazil, your country’s been great to us. The people have been fantastic. We’re looking forward to make history tomorrow and really looking forward to playing the Philadelphia Eagles to start off the 2024 season.”

“I’m very thankful for how Brazil and the city of São Paulo have welcomed us and welcomed me and just the excitement about all of it,” Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said.

“Everything’s been just so first class since the moment we stepped foot in this country. We’re just very appreciative and look forward to playing in front of your fans.”

Security concerns

While thousands of Brazilians are excited to see history being made and the teams are raring to go, there has been a bit of trepidation from some of the players.

Eagles cornerback Darius Slay recently said on his podcast that he didn’t want to go to Brazil after being told about security concerns in the country.

According to Statista data, Brazil is ranked as the 17th most dangerous country in the world, by murder rate, but it ranks below other Latin American countries like Mexico, where the NFL has already played four International Series games.

“They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can’t do too much going on because the crime rate is crazy,” he said.

Slay has since apologized for offending Brazilian fans, saying he was now “looking forward to playing in your beautiful country,” in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Slay wasn’t the only Eagles player with concerns, however. According to Reuters, Philadelphia wide receiver AJ Brown told reporters: “We had a meeting with a whole bunch of ‘Don’t Do’s’. So I’m just trying to go down there, win a football game and come back home,” adding that the team advised the players to not walk on the street holding their mobile phones.

In response, São Paulo state’s government said it would provide extra security for the teams, according to the Associated Press.

“Our policing will be beefed up during the week to secure the public’s safety for this historic match, with officers on the streets and avenues around the stadium, in public transportation, in the hotels and in tourist areas of the city,” the security secretariat said, per AP.

Starting anew

On the field, the Eagles will be hoping to start fresh and forget about how last season ended.

Despite starting last year in blistering form, the Eagles’ season collapsed entirely toward the backend of the campaign – culminating in a disappointing loss in the NFC Wild Card round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There was more disappointment over the offseason for the Eagles, as fan favorite and star center Jason Kelce announced his retirement from the NFL.

Kelce had been a cornerstone of the Philadelphia offense with the seven-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro selection spending his entire 13-season NFL career with the Eagles.

The star’s influence is still being felt, though. Kelce featured in a video promoting the game in Brazil, which the Eagles released on social media.

Some of the disappointment felt by Kelce’s departure was eased with the arrival of star running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley, formerly of the New York Giants, brings another exciting element to the already star-studded Philadelphia offense.

With star quarterback Jalen Hurts, Brown, receiver DeVonta Smith and Barkley featuring in the Eagles’ impressive arsenal of offensive talent, the Packers will need to rely on a strong defensive performance if they are to pick up the win in Brazil, particularly as Philly means business.

“I think at the end of the day, we came here to do a job. And our job is not to come and sightsee or anything like that,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters. “Our job is to come here and to play a football game against a very good opponent in the Green Bay Packers, and try to win this football game. Our job is to focus on just that.”

Green Bay comes into the new season off the back of an impressive campaign.

Led by quarterback Jordan Love, the Packers looked like a team on the up in 2023 – highlighted by an impressive 48-32 NFC Wild Card win against the Dallas Cowboys.

Love had a huge breakout year in 2023 and showed some of the potential people that people had predicted when he was drafted with the 26th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The talented Green Bay offense has also been bolstered by star running back Josh Jacobs, who joined the Packers in the offseason and will be able to add to team’s rushing game this year.

There will also be another unique twist on Friday, with the Eagles wearing a black-and-white uniform for the game in São Paulo.

The kit will mirror that of the Corinthians soccer team who will be hosting the game. Green, which has become a color so synonymous with the Eagles, is coincidentally the color of Corinthians’ fierce rival, Palmeiras.

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