World Cup 2026: Austria overcome Jordan to make winning start in Group J

Austria made a winning return to the FIFA World Cup after a 28-year absence, defeating Jordan 3-1 in Santa Clara to begin their Group J campaign on a positive note.

Ralf Rangnick’s side were not always at their most fluent, but they demonstrated enough quality and control to secure all three points against a Jordanian team making its first appearance at the tournament.

The result ensured Austria joined Argentina at the top of the group following the opening round of matches and strengthened their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.

Austria took the lead midway through the first half through Romano Schmid, who produced one of the standout moments of the match.

The Werder Bremen winger collected possession outside the penalty area before curling an impressive effort into the far top corner in the 21st minute.

The goal placed Schmid among a select group of Austrian players to have scored at both a European Championship and a World Cup.

Despite falling behind, Jordan remained competitive and created opportunities of their own before the interval.

Their best chance came when Ali Olwan broke through on goal, only for Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager to deny him in a crucial one-on-one situation.

Jordan’s persistence was rewarded shortly after the restart.

Olwan, who had been one of his side’s most dangerous attacking players, finally found the breakthrough in the 50th minute. The Al Sailiya forward calmly finished a swift counter-attack to score Jordan’s first-ever goal at a FIFA World Cup.

The historic strike briefly brought the contest level and gave Jordan renewed belief.

Austria responded by increasing the pressure as they searched for a second goal.

Marko Arnautovic thought he had restored the lead, but his effort was ruled out for handball following a review.

The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 76th minute when a corner caused problems inside the Jordan penalty area, leading to defender Yazan Al Arab turning the ball into his own net.

With Jordan chasing an equaliser late in the match, Austria sealed victory in stoppage time.

A handball inside the penalty area resulted in a spot-kick, and Arnautovic made no mistake from the penalty spot.

The goal was particularly significant for the veteran striker, who recorded his 48th international goal and further strengthened his position as Austria’s all-time leading scorer.

The victory gives Austria an ideal start ahead of a challenging meeting with Argentina in their next Group J fixture.

Jordan, meanwhile, will take encouragement from scoring their first World Cup goal despite the defeat and will now turn their attention to a crucial encounter with Algeria as they seek their first points of the tournament.