Jordan came close to a major upset, but its first-ever match at the FIFA World Cup ended Wednesday with a 3–1 defeat to Austria.
The gap on paper was stark. Israel's eastern neighbor had only one player competing in a European league – Musa Al-Taamari of Rennes – while the squad managed by Ralf Rangnick was stacked with players from Europe's top leagues.
In the 20th minute, Austria took the lead through a superb goal from Romano Schmid. The Werder Bremen midfielder was just outside the box and curled a beautiful shot into the Jordanian net. Rather than shift into a higher gear and put the match away, Austria let Jordan back in.
A few hours after Iraq was beaten by Norway and became the first Asian side to lose at the 2026 World Cup, Jordan was determined to avoid a similar fate. In the 50th minute, Ali Alwan equalized – scoring what became the first goal in Jordanian national team history at a World Cup.
Substitute Marko Arnautović found the net in the 67th minute, but the goal was ruled out. After the water break, in the 76th minute, Arnautović appeared to have scored again. But replays made clear it was actually an own goal by Yazan Al-Arab. Austria held that lead, and Arnautović even added a goal of his own – converting a successful penalty 12 minutes into stoppage time.
On Monday evening, Austria faces a far stiffer challenge against world champions Argentina in the second matchday. Jordan will take on Algeria in an Arab derby and will look to secure a historic win that could put them in contention for a spot in the knockout stage.
