Austria were threatened by Jordan, who were playing in their first appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but veteran forward Marko Arnautovic converted a penalty kick in stoppage time in the second half to seal the victory.
Published June 17, 2026
Austria returned to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years with a tense 3-1 win over debutants Jordan in their Group J opener on Tuesday, relying on a second-half own goal and Marko Arnautovic’s last-gasp penalty to claim the three points.
Austria took the lead in the 20th minute through Romano Schmidt’s lightning strike, but they were equalized again five minutes after half-time when striker Ali Orwan found space in the area and fired a powerful shot inside the far post.
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Veteran Austrian target man Arnautovic fired a low shot into the net after a goalmouth scramble in the 69th minute, but it was ruled out for handball by teammate Stefan Posch after a VAR review.
But Austria celebrated again seven minutes later when Marcel Sabitzer’s corner kick was deflected into their own net by Yazan Al Arab, but Arnautovic converted a penalty in stoppage time to seal the scoring after Salim Obeid was penalized for handball.
The win moves Austria into second place in Group J behind the reigning World Cup winners, who topped the table with a 3-0 win over Algeria earlier on Tuesday thanks to Lionel Messi’s magical hat-trick. Jordan is in third place in the group, while Algeria is in last place.
The FIFA World Cup begins on June 11th. Check out Al Jazeera’s dedicated 2026 World Cup page for all the latest news, fixtures and live text commentary, and stay up to date with group standings, real-time results and schedules.
