Austria Seeks First World Cup Win in 36 Years Against Debutants Jordan

Austria is set to face absolute debutants Jordan in their opening Group J fixture, which will be played in San Francisco. Both teams are grouped alongside reigning world champions Argentina and Algeria.

For the Austrians, this match holds special significance, as the 'Wunderteam' hasn't qualified for a World Cup in 28 years. Furthermore, Austria hasn't secured a World Cup victory in 36 years, with their last win being a 2-1 triumph over the USA in 1990.

Austria earned their spot at the World Cup by topping qualifying Group H. They finished ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania, with only one loss and one draw throughout their campaign. A resounding 10-0 victory over San Marino was a highlight in terms of scoreline, but crucial wins included a 2-1 away victory against Bosnia and a 2-1 home win against the Romanians. Marko Arnautović was a standout performer, netting eight goals.

Ralf Rangnick's squad also performed well in their warm-up matches, securing consecutive victories against three other 2026 World Cup participants: a dominant 5-1 win over Ghana, and 1-0 victories against both South Korea and Tunisia. However, the coach himself explicitly warned his team against underestimating their opponents.

Jordan, meanwhile, qualified for their historic first World Cup after finishing with an equal number of points as Saudi Arabia in the first phase of the Asian qualifiers. Subsequently, the Jordanians were only surpassed by South Korea, with Iraq, Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait finishing further down the table. The team's primary goalscorer in the qualifiers was striker Ali Olwan, who plays for Qatari club Al-Sailiya. However, in their friendly matches, the team has gone four consecutive games without a win, including two defeats against Switzerland and Colombia.

Both teams faced some squad issues in the lead-up to the tournament. Christoph Baumgartner was ruled out of Austria's squad, with Dejan Ljubičić called up as his replacement. For Jordan, Ibrahim Sabra withdrew, and Mohamad Abu Gosh was brought into the team. Logically, the two teams have never met before.