Austria Opens World Cup Run With Late 3-1 Win Over Jordan

Austria marked its return to the World Cup stage with a 3-1 victory over debutant Jordan in San Francisco, a result that took nearly three decades to arrive. Romano Schmid put Austria ahead in the 20th minute with a superb strike from outside the box, and his goal made him only the second Austrian ever, after Ivica Vastic, to score at both the European Championship and the World Cup.

Jordan answered after halftime and produced the biggest moment in its history in the 50th minute, when Ali Olwan cut in from the left and finished off the post for a stunning equalizer. Austria, the favorite on paper, struggled at times against Jordan’s first-ever World Cup appearance but eventually regained control in a tense Group 10 contest.

A Marco Arnautovic goal was correctly disallowed by VAR in the 67th minute for handball, but Austria went back in front in the 76th minute when Marcel Sabitzer’s corner created confusion and Jordan defender Yazan Al-Arab headed into his own net. The goal sparked a minor physical confrontation, after which Sabitzer received a yellow card in the 77th minute.

Deep into stoppage time, in the 90+12th minute, a handball by Salem Obeid gave Austria a penalty. Arnautovic converted it for his 48th international goal and sealed the win. The result was Austria’s first World Cup victory since 1990 and lifted Ralf Rangnick’s team to second place in the group, behind Argentina. Jordan was left with its historic goal and praise, but still seeks its first win ever against a European opponent.