Austria end 28-year World Cup wait with tense 3-1 win over debutants Jordan

Austria ended a 28-year absence from the World Cup with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over debutants Jordan in their Group J opener on Tuesday, eventually pulling clear through a second-half own goal and a stoppage-time penalty.

Romano Schmid gave Austria the lead in the 20th minute with a thunderbolt finish, but Jordan levelled five minutes after the break when Ali Olwan fired a sizzling shot inside the far post to set up a nervy second half.

Austria thought they had retaken the lead in the 69th minute through Marko Arnautovic, only for the goal to be ruled out following a VAR review for handball by teammate Stefan Posch. The veteran striker would have his moment, however. Seven minutes later, Yazan Al-Arab deflected a Marcel Sabitzer corner into his own net to restore Austria’s advantage, and Arnautovic then sealed the points deep into stoppage time, converting a penalty after Saleem Obeid was penalised for handball.

The result marks Austria’s first World Cup win since their last appearance at the tournament in 1998, and sets up a daunting second group game against reigning world champions Argentina on Monday.

Jordan, making their World Cup debut, will look to regroup when they face Algeria in their next fixture.

Earlier on Tuesday, Argentina opened their title defence with a commanding 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City, with Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick to equal Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goals record of 16. The 38-year-old’s decisive third came in the 76th minute, when he collected a pass from Nicolas Gonzalez and fired low into the corner — a milestone that places him alongside Germany’s Klose as the tournament’s joint all-time top scorer.