Austria's Marko Arnautovic remonstrates with referee Dahane Beida after scoring a goal that was later disallowed following a VAR review. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Austria began its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign against debutant Jordan at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Tuesday.

Roman Schmid gave Austria the lead in the 21st minute with a strike from outside the box which ended up in the top right corner.

After struggling to have any control in the first half, Jordan equalised just five minutes after the restart. Ali Iyad Olwan scored from the edge of the box with a curling right-footed shot which went in off the post.

However, Austria thought that it retook the lead in the 66th minute after all-time top scorer Marko Arnautovic found the back of the net from close range after coming off the bench. But after a VAR check, the goal was ruled out.

Why was Marko Arnautovic’s goal ruled out?

Replays showed that before Arnautovic bundled in a loose ball into the back of the net, it touched right-back Stefan Posch’s extended arm.

As the VAR could not provide a decision, referee Dahane Beida was asked to take a look at the screen. After multiple replays, he came back on the pitch and ruled the goal out stating that Posch had handled the ball.

Published on Jun 17, 2026