Austria stopped Jordan's dream debut, 3-1; novices shown to be able to keep up
Ali Olwan scored Jordan's first World Cup goal, but Austria prevailed, 3-1, at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
It was a near-perfect World Cup debut for Jordan, but it faded in the final stages of the match as Austria sealed a 3-1 win at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (Levi's Stadium) in Santa Clara.
Austria took an early lead in the 21st minute through Romano Schmid's curling free-kick — the 10th goal from outside the box of the tournament. Jordan intervened entering the second half: in the 50th minute, Ali Olwan cut in from the left and volleyed the ball into the far corner for Jordan's first goal in World Cup history.
Olwan celebrated by waving jersey No. 11 in tribute to Yazan Al-Naimat, Jordan's regular striker who missed the tournament with an ACL injury in December. Despite the enthusiasm of the rookies, Marko Arnautovic almost restored Austria's lead in the 67th minute from confusion in front of goal, but Stefan Posch's handball ruled it out.
It didn't take long for Austria to take the lead again: in the 76th minute, from a corner, Yazan Al Arab's inadvertent deflection deflected the ball in for an own goal that made it 2-1. Deep into extra time, with 12 minutes added, Arnautovic sealed the result with a penalty after Salim Obaid was hit by a handball from his cross; the veteran pass cleanly speared the 3-1.
<figure style="margin:2rem 0;overflow:hidden;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;background:#f9f9f9"><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/athletic/uploads/wp/2026/06/17014633/GettyImages-2281989274-scaled.jpg?width=1200&height=630&fit=cover" alt="Image" style="width:100%;height:auto;object-fit:contain" loading="lazy" /></figure>In front of 68,527 spectators — almost full to the 69,000 capacity — a lively atmosphere reigned. On opposite ends of the stadium, you can see the white sea of the Jordanians and the red wall of the Austrians; many of them are from the diaspora in the United States, which continues to show a growing enthusiasm for football.
Although debutant and 46 places apart in ranking compared to No. 21 Austria, Jordan did not lose in courage and speed. The two teams had the same number of saves and on target, but Ralf Rangnick's side — who reached the Round of 16 at Euro 2024 — created more quality chances and showed the value that experience brings at major tournaments.
On the Austrian side, the personal record of Arnautovic, 37, who just scored in the World Cup, was completely broken. He made an immediate impact coming off the bench: he played a part in the second goal with a daring aerial challenge that put pressure on the defense and also forced a handball for a penalty. As Austria's all-time record appearance maker and top scorer, he had eight goals in qualifying — second only to Erling Haaland in Europe — and remains vital to the team's tournament ambitions.
Jordan next face Algeria and Argentina in Group J, and need a point to hope to progress as one of the best third-placed teams. For a country that has only just stepped onto the World Cup stage, Jordan showed they are not to be underestimated.
