Austria kicked off the 2026 World Cup with a hard-fought victory over Jordan
The Austrian national team secured a hard-fought 3–1 victory over the Jordanian national team in their first-round match of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.
The match took place in Group J. Despite strong resistance from the Asian team, the Europeans managed to secure three points at the end of the match.
The first half was completely even. The Jordanians created more scoring chances, but it was Austria that scored the goal. As early as the 2nd minute, the Asian team had a chance to open the scoring—during a counterattack, Al-Tamari passed to Haddad, but Haddad missed with a low shot from close range.
Later, Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager saved his team by reaching up to tip Fahouri’s shot over the crossbar.
Shortly thereafter, the Austrian players were able to capitalize on one of their few chances in front of the opponent’s goal. In the 21st minute, Austria took the lead. After a pass from Xaver Schlager on the left flank, Schmid fired a thunderous shot into the far top corner.
Jordan could have equalized immediately, but the ball hit the crossbar after a header by Olwan. Later, Olwan took another powerful shot—Schlager made the save, and Tamari was denied an open-net chance to follow up.
The second half began with the Asian players dictating the pace, throwing significant resources into the attack.
The Jordanians started the second half aggressively and quickly equalized. Rawabde intercepted the ball, played it through to Olwan, who entered the penalty area and curled a precise shot into the far corner.
The European team responded to the goal with a series of sharp attacks, trying to regain the lead.
The Austrians went on the attack to score a second goal; at first, the defenders blocked Chukwuemeka’s shot, but soon Arnautović put the Europeans ahead. However, the goal was disallowed because Posch handled the ball.
The Austrian team continued to press the opponent’s defensive line, which eventually led to a mistake by the Asian captain. Austria remained undeterred and scored their second goal.
Al-Arab misjudged a header at the near post following a corner kick and directed the ball into his own net.
The final minutes of the match were a tense battle, with both teams having excellent chances to change the final score.
Late in the match, Arnautović had a chance to seal the victory but was unable to beat the Jordanian goalkeeper. The Asian team also had a chance—Azize fired a dangerous shot just wide of the post.
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