Austria marked their return to the FIFA World Cup with a 3-1 win over debutants Jordan in their Group J opener in San Francisco.

The result gave Austria their first World Cup victory since 1990 and placed them second in Group J behind Argentina, who defeated Algeria 3-0. Jordan, playing at the tournament for the first time, produced a competitive performance but could not hold on after equalising early in the second half.

Romano Schmid opened the scoring for Austria in the 21st minute with a strong finish. Jordan responded five minutes after the interval through Ali Olwan, who scored the country’s first World Cup goal to bring the match level.

Austria later had a goal from veteran forward Marko Arnautovic ruled out after a VAR review for handball.

The turning point came in the 76th minute when Jordan defender Yazan Al-Arab scored an own goal, restoring Austria’s lead. Arnautovic then converted a stoppage-time penalty to seal the victory.

Despite the defeat, Jordan showed pace and aggression on the counterattack and created several chances during the match.

Austria will next face defending champions Argentina, while Jordan will meet Algeria in their second Group J fixture.

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