Austria marked their first World Cup appearance since 1998 with a winning start, defeating tournament debutants Jordan 3-1 in an entertaining Group J contest. Romano Schmid gave Austria the lead in the 21st minute with a curling effort, but Jordan refused to back down and found a way back into the match through Ali Olwan, who leveled the score after the break with a well-taken finish.
The game remained closely fought before Austria regained control. An unfortunate own goal from Yazan Al Arab put Ralf Rangnick’s side back in front, and substitute Marko Arnautovic later converted a penalty to seal the result. On a cool evening in the San Francisco Bay Area, Austria’s return to the World Cup ended on a positive note, while Jordan showed plenty of fight in their first-ever appearance on football’s biggest stage.
Marko Arnautovic’s Impact Turns the Game in Austria’s Favor
The introduction of Arnautovic at halftime was decisive for Austria. The 37-year-old striker had a goal disallowed in the 69th minute, then pressured defender Yazan Al Arab into an own goal seven minutes later before converting a penalty deep into stoppage time.
Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer said they knew coming into the match how tough their opponents would be. “We knew that this was going to be a difficult match… there were situations where we did a good job, there were phases where we underperformed,” he added. “What’s important is the mentality of the entire team — we never gave up, we kept going until the end and finally we came out on top.”
Austria Survive Jordan’s Challenge to Secure FIFA World Cup Return Win
Jordan defended resolutely and were fierce on the break, with the pace of forwards Olwan and Mousa Al-Tamari a constant threat to Austria, who were playing at their first World Cup in 28 years. The match got off to a frenetic start, with Jordan causing a scare two minutes in with a counter-attack that led to captain Ehsan Haddad blasting low into the side netting.
Austria soon got into their stride, with Marcel Sabitzer the central figure in a succession of attacks, and they broke the deadlock on 21 minutes when Schmid found the top corner from outside the box. Jordan pressed hard and found the leveller five minutes after halftime when Olwan powered down the left before firing a sumptuous shot in off the far post. Austria thought they were back in front when Arnautovic prodded home a loose ball from close range, but the goal was ruled out due to a handball by Stefan Posch following a VAR review.
They got the decisive goal when Sabitzer’s corner went in off Al Arab, then put the game beyond Jordan through Arnautovic’s penalty 12 minutes into stoppage time. “We didn’t deserve to lose in our first-ever World Cup appearance – a historic participation for us,” Jordan’s Olwan said. “We still have two matches ahead, and based on what I saw from our team today, we are capable of qualifying.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
