FIFA World Cup 2026: Austria scores 3 behind Jordan to finish second behind Argentina in Group J
Austria celebrated their long-awaited return to the World Cup with a 3-1 win over determined debutants Jordan on Tuesday, with substitute Marko Arnautovic the difference in a gritty, final Group J match.
AUS vs JOR, FIFA World Cup 2026: Highlights
On a brisk night in the San Francisco Bay Area, Austria went ahead with a 21st-minute thunderbolt from Roman Schmid, before Jordan struck after a breakthrough through Ali Olwan’s excellent strike off the post.
The introduction of Arnautovic at half-time was decisive for Austria.
The 37-year-old striker had a goal disallowed in the 69th minute, then pushed 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 how tough their opponents would be.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game… there were situations where we did a good job, there were phases where we performed worse,” he added.
“The mentality of the whole team is important – we never gave up, we kept going until the end and in the end we came out on top.” Schmid opens the scoring for Austria (Photo Reuters)
THE ABSENCE OF THE 28-YEAR WORLD CUP
Jordan defended resolutely and were ferocious on the break, with the pace of forwards Olwan and Mousa Al-Tamari a constant threat for Austria, who were playing at their first World Cup in 28 years.
The game got off to a frenetic start when Jordan caused a scare two minutes in from a counter-attack that led to captain Ehsan Haddad firing low into the side netting.
Austria got going early, with Marcel Sabitzer central to a number of attacks, and they broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when Schmid found the top corner from outside.
Jordan pushed hard and found an equalizer five minutes after half-time when Olwan beat the left before firing a wonderful shot wide of the far post.
Austria thought they were back in front when Arnautovic poked home from close range, but the goal was ruled out for Stefan Posch’s ball after a VAR review.
They got the decisive goal when Al Arab headed home Sabitzer’s corner before beating Jordan from Arnautovic’s penalty in the 12th minute.
“We didn’t deserve to lose in our first appearance at the World Cup – a historic participation for us,” said Jordan’s Olwan.
“We still have two games to go and from what I saw from our team today, we are capable of qualifying.
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Published on:
June 17, 2026 12:49 PM IST