Everything you need to know when Austria face Jordan in the 2026 World Cup
Austria are back on the World Cup stage for the first time since 1998 and are expected to get off to a winning start when they face tournament debutants Jordan in the opening match of Group J at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Wednesday.
Ralf Rangnick’s side arrive in strong form after winning all three of their World Cup pre-season games, while Jordan head into their first-ever World Cup finals looking to overcome a difficult spell that has seen them win just one win in their last five games.
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Austria secured qualification by winning their UEFA qualifying group, narrowly beating Bosnia and Herzegovina, thanks in part to Michael Gregoritsch’s late equaliser in a decisive 1-1 draw in the final match of the last round. Since then, they have maintained the momentum with victories over Ghana, South Korea and Tunisia.
With tougher matches in Group J against Argentina and Algeria still to come, Austria see this opening match as a key opportunity to secure three points. The Austrians are aiming to reach the playoffs of a World Cup for the first time since 1954.
Jordan, on the other hand, made history by qualifying for his first World Cup playoff appearance after finishing second in his AFC qualifying group. Jamal Sellami’s side impressed by reaching the Arab Cup final after qualifying, but they have struggled since then with two draws and two losses in their last four friendlies.
World Cup 2026: Austria vs Jordan – Team Updates
Austria will have to do without Christoph Baumgartner, who was forced to sit out the championship due to injury, and he has been replaced in the squad by Dejan Ljubicic.
Patrick Wimmer, Florian Grillitsch and David Alaba have all had injury problems, but Alaba is expected to be available from the start.
In Baumgartner’s absence, Romano Schmid, Marcel Sabitzer, Michael Gregoritsch and experienced striker Marko Arnautovic are expected to make up Austria’s attacking line.
Jordan has also suffered a significant setback, with Yazan Al Naimat unavailable due to the injury that has kept him out since December. The striker scored eight goals during the World Cup qualifiers and will be a big miss.
Ibrahim Sabra retired from the squad before the championship and was replaced by Mohammad Taha.
Austria vs Jordan: World Cup 2026 – Predicted line-ups
Austria’s expected starting eleven: Alexander Schlager; Konrad Laimer, Philipp Lienhart, David Alaba, Phillipp Mwene; Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald; Romano Schmid, Marcel Sabitzer, Michael Gregoritsch; Marko Arnautovic.
Jordan’s expected starting eleven: Yazeed Abulaila; Abdullah Nasib, Yazan Al-Arab, Bara Marei; Mohammad Abu Hashish, Nizar Al Rashdan, Noor Al Rawabdeh, Mohammad Taha; Mousa Tamari, Ali Olwan, Odeh Fakhouri.
World Cup 2026: Austria vs Jordan – statistics
- Austria are in their eighth World Cup after winning their group ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina and securing their first participation since 1998, when they were knocked out in the group stage
- Their best performance in a World Cup came in 1954, when they finished third. In the quarter-finals, they were involved in the highest-scoring World Cup match ever when they beat Switzerland 7-5
- Austria allowed their opponents fewer passes than any other team before a defensive action during qualifying, indicating that no European team pressed more intensely than them
- Marko Arnautovic, who turns 37 at the World Cup, became Austria’s all-time top scorer during qualifying (47 goals), beating Anton Polster (44)
- Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer are the only players to have played for Austria in each of the last three European Championship finals (2016, 2020, 2024)
- Ralf Rangnick is the second head coach to lead Austria in two major international championships (World Cup and European Championship), after Josef Hickersberger (World Cup 1990 and Euro 2008). Rangnick’s team reached the last eight of Euro 2024
- Jordan could become the first team to reach the playoffs on its debut since Slovakia in 2010
- They finished second in the last Asian Championship, which was played in 2023, where they lost the final 3-1 to hosts Qatar
- 32 goals in qualifying was Jordan’s highest tally in a single qualifying campaign, breaking their 2014 record of 30 goals
- In qualifying, Jordan was one of three AFC teams to reach the playoffs while remaining unbeaten away from home (S4 U4), along with Australia and South Korea
- Iran’s Mehdi Taremi (17 – 10 goals, 7 assists) and Qatar’s Akram Afif (15 – 4 goals, 11 assists) were the only players directly involved in more goals than Jordan striker Yazan Al-Naimat (14 – 8 goals, 6 assists) during the AFC qualifying campaign
- Head coach Jamal Sellami becomes the fourth Moroccan to lead a team in a World Cup, after Abdellah Blinda (1994), Walid Regragui (2022) and Mohamed Ouahbi (2026), but the first to lead a nation other than Morocco
World Cup 2026: Austria vs. Jordan betting
Austria possess significantly more quality and experience at this level, and they arrive in excellent form after a strong qualifying campaign and impressive results in the run-up.
Jordan deserves huge credit for reaching their first World Cup, but their recent defensive struggles are hard to overlook.
Expect Austria to control possession, create better chances and start the tournament with a comfortable victory.
Betting: Austria 3-1 Jordan
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