Austria's Romano Schmid (18) celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal against Jordan. | Photo Credit: AP

Austria marked its return ​to the FIFA World Cup after ‌a 28-year absence with a ​tense 3-1 win ⁠over debutant Jordan in a Group J clash on Tuesday, relying ‌on a second-half own goal and a ‌last-gasp penalty to claim ‌the ⁠three points.

Austria took the ⁠lead on 20 minutes through a Romano Schmid thunderbolt, but was pegged ​back five ‌minutes after the break when striker Ali Olwan found space in the area and ‌fired a sizzling shot ​inside the far post.

AS IT HAPPENED | AUSTRIA VS JORDAN HIGHLIGHTS

Austria’s veteran target man Marko ⁠Arnautovic slammed a low shot into the net from ‌a goalmouth scramble in the 69th minute, but it was ruled out for handball by teammate Stefan Posch following a VAR review.

Seven ‌minutes later, though, Austria was celebrating ​again as Yazan Al-Arab deflected a Marcel Sabitzer ⁠corner into his own net, ⁠before Arnautovic slotted home a penalty deep into ‌stoppage time after Saleem Obeid was penalised for handball.

(With inputs from REUTERS)

Published on Jun 17, 2026