Austria get their World Cup 2026 campaign underway when they face Jordan on Wednesday at 5am (UK time).
Austria are back at the World Cup after a 28-year absence, since their group-stage exit in 1998. It was their longest absence from the tournament, beating the 20 years they missed out between 1958 and 1978. Austria had early success at the World Cup with strong finishes in 1934 and 1954, but managed just one win across 1990 and 1998.
Jordan, meanwhile, are one of the World Cup debutants at this summer’s tournament. They have been placed in a tough group but will be history makers whatever happens. And they’ll have already seen Curacao score in their very first World Cup.
This will be the first meeting between these two sides.
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Austria vs Jordan team news
Austria team news
Ralf Rangnick suffered a blow in the buildup to the World Cup as Christoph Baumgartner suffered an injury, ruling him out of the tournament. Baumgartner had been favourite to start in the No.10, but that now looks to be Michael Gregoritsch’s role. As a result, Marko Arnautovic is unrivalled for the starting striker role, though Sasa Kalajdzic will provide an option from the bench.
Marcel Sabitzer will continue his role on the right side of the attacking midfield, with Romano Schmid likely to play on the left. Xaver Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald look to be the first-choice pairing for the double-pivot, but Austria do have a lot of midfield options. One of their biggest strengths is the flexibility of their midfield, with players able to play in a variety of positions.
Konrad Laimer is one of those, and he’s expected to start at left-back. The 29-year-old will be available to face Jordan, despite his sending off in Austria’s pre-tournament friendly. Stefan Posch is expected to take up the right-back spot. David Alaba will also captain the side from centre-back, playing in his first major tournament since Euro 2020. He’ll be partnered by Philipp Lienhart, with Alexander Schlager in goal.
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Jordan team news
All 26 players will be itching to make history as part of Jordan’s first-ever World Cup starting XI. But Jamal Sellami looks to have a pretty settled lineup, so players may already know whether they have a chance of starting. Yazeed Abulaila is Jordan’s undisputed No.1, having played 76 times for his country — the other two goalkeepers combine for just 16 games. The back three looks easy to predict too, with Abdallah Nasib and Yazan Al-Arab likely to be joined by Mohammed Abualnadi. Although Salim Obaid, Husam Abu Dahab and Saed Al-Rosan will hope to make a late case to start.
The midfield four hasn’t changed across Jordan’s two pre-tournament friendlies, so the expectation is that it will remain the same against Austria. Ihsan Haddad and Mohannad Abu Taha will provide the width as wing-backs, with the former captaining Jordan at the World Cup. Nizar Al-Rashdan and Noor Al-Rawabdeh look to be the favoured central midfield partnership.
There is a space up for grabs in the attack, though. Musa Al-Taamari will start on the right, with Ali Olwan leading the line. They are the two top-scorers in the Jordan squad, with 24 and 29 goals, respectively. But Odeh Al-Fakhouri and Mahmoud Al-Mardi battle it out for a spot on the left wing. They are at the oppoite stages of their careers, and Al-Mardi may get the nod from the start, with 20-year-old Al-Fakhouri ready to come off the bench.
Austria vs Jordan predicted lineups
Austria (4-2-3-1): A Schlager; Posch, Lienhart, Alaba, Laimer; X Schlager, Seiwald; Schmid, Gregoritsch, Sabitzer; Arnautovic.
Jordan (3-4-3): Abulaila; Al-Arab, Abualnadi, Nasib; Haddad, Al-Rawabdeh, Al-Rashdan, Abu Taha; Tamari, Olwan, Al-Mardi.
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