Austria beats Jordan 3-1 for its first World Cup win in 36 years

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Austria won a World Cup game for the first time in 36 years with a 3-1 victory Tuesday over a Jordan team on debut at soccer’s premier global event.

An own goal from a corner kick that deflected off Jordanian defender Yazan Al Arab gave Austria a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute. Veteran striker Marko Arnautovic’s penalty kick deep in stoppage team extended the margin.

“This was a very intense evening, sometimes a little too intense,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said. “Jordan did an amazing job and made it very difficult for us. At the end of the day, we deserved to win but it was very difficult.”

The Group J game between a Jordanian team at the World Cup for the first time and an Austria squad back on soccer’s biggest stage after missing the last six tournaments featured plenty of excitement.

It peaked in a stretch in the second half that featured an equalizer by Jordan and two balls sent into the net off corner kicks by Austria — with only one of those counting.

The 37-year-old Arnautovic had appeared to give Austria the lead when he fired in after a misplay by Jordanian goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila. But the decision went to a VAR review and the referee called a hand ball on Stefan Posch in the lead up.

Austria got another corner kick shortly after the second-half hydration break and the took a 2-1 lead on Al Arab’s own goal.

That proved to be the difference for Austria, which earned its first win at the World Cup since beating the United States in a group-stage match in 1990. Jordan fell short in its attempt to become the first country to win its World Cup debut game since Senegal did it in 2002 against defending-champion France.

“No one was expecting us to be that bold, to be that proactive and to be that capable of benefiting from the available opportunities,” Jordan coach Jamal Sellami said. “This was exactly the message we wanted to convey.”

Romano Schmid scored in the 20th minute for Austria when he capped off an impressive buildup that put the Jordanian defense on its heels. Xaver Schlager fed a pass to Schmid, who hit a perfectly struck right-foot shot from the edge of the area into the top corner of the net.

Ali Olwan tied it for Jordan in the 50th when made a long run into the box on a counterattack and beat Alexander Schlager with a right-foot shot that delighted the large contingent of Jordanian fans.

Posch injured his jaw later in the match and his status going ahead is in doubt.

Jordan will return to Santa Clara for its second match next Monday against Algeria, which lost 3-0 to Argentina in the first Group J match. Austria will face Lionel Messi and Argentina in the Dallas area that same day.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup