Austria marked their return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence with a dramatic 3-1 victory over tournament debutants Jordan in their Group J opener on Tuesday. The European side relied on a second-half own goal and a stoppage-time penalty from Marko Arnautovic to secure all three points.
Austria took the lead in the 20th minute through a thunderous long-range strike from Romano Schmid. However, Ralf Rangnick's side were pegged back just five minutes after the interval when striker Ali Olwan found space in the box and fired a clinical finish into the far corner.
Veteran forward Arnautovic thought he had put Austria back in front in the 69th minute after a goalmouth scramble, but the effort was disallowed after a VAR review deemed teammate Stefan Posch had handled the ball.
Seven minutes later, Austria celebrated again when Yazan Al-Arab turned the ball into his own net from a Marcel Sabitzer corner. Arnautovic then sealed the win with a stoppage-time penalty, awarded after Saleem Obeid was penalised for handball.
The victory lifts Austria to second in Group J, behind defending champions Argentina who beat Algeria 3-0 thanks to a remarkable Lionel Messi hat-trick. Jordan sit third, while Algeria are bottom of the group.
