Austria made a winning return to the FIFA World Cup after a 28-year absence, defeating tournament debutants Jordan 3-1 in their Group J opener on Tuesday.
Romano Schmid fired Austria ahead in the 20th minute with a powerful strike, giving the Europeans control of the contest before Jordan responded early in the second half.
Ali Olwan brought the newcomers level five minutes after the restart, finding space inside the penalty area before drilling an effort beyond the goalkeeper to spark celebrations among the Jordanian supporters.
Austria thought they had restored their advantage in the 69th minute when veteran forward Marko Arnautovic bundled the ball into the net from close range.
However, the goal was chalked off following a VAR review, which detected a handball by Stefan Posch during the build-up.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 76th minute when Jordan defender Yazan Al-Arab inadvertently turned Marcel Sabitzer’s corner into his own net, handing Austria a crucial lead.
Arnautovic eventually got his name on the scoresheet deep into stoppage time, calmly converting a penalty after Saleem Obeid was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area.
The victory moves Austria up to second place in Group J, behind defending champions Argentina, who lead the standings after a 3-0 victory over Algeria inspired by a hat-trick from Lionel Messi. Jordan occupy third position, while Algeria sit at the foot of the group.
