A 36-year wait for a World Cup victory ended for Austria in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Santa Clara, California, as Ralf Rangnick’s side overcame debutants Jordan 3-1 in a Group J opener that delivered drama, history and a late flurry of VAR interventions. The result lifts Austria level on points with Argentina, who earlier dispatched Algeria 3-0, and sets up a tantalising contest between the two group leaders in Dallas next Monday.

Romano Schmid ignited the contest with a stunning 20th-minute strike from outside the area that arrowed into the top corner, giving Austria a lead their early pressure had threatened. Yet Jordan, the first new nation to grace the tournament in the expanded 48-team format, responded with a moment of genuine symbolism five minutes after the restart. Ali Olwan cut inside from the left and drove a shot off the far post and in, registering Jordan’s first-ever World Cup goal and prompting a tribute to injured teammate Yazan Al-Naimat. The equaliser jolted Austria, who then had a Marko Arnautovic effort from a corner disallowed for offside following a VAR review.

The decisive swing came in the 76th minute, when another Austrian corner glanced off the head of Jordanian defender Yazan Al-Arab and nestled into his own net. Deep into stoppage time — 12 minutes beyond the 90 — Arnautovic converted a penalty with icy composure to extinguish any lingering Jordanian resistance. European observers noted the raggedness of much of the play; Brazilian outlets described a match high on endeavour but short on technical fluency, a verdict that will concern Rangnick ahead of sterner tests.

Viewed from the Arab world, Jordan’s debut carried a dignity that transcended the scoreline. Asian media celebrated Olwan’s historic strike as a milestone for a region steadily expanding its footprint in the global game. In the United States, the Levi’s Stadium encounter drew a vibrant, multicultural crowd, underscoring the tournament’s role as a gathering point for diasporas. Argentina’s earlier demolition of Algeria, powered by a Lionel Messi hat-trick, means the group already has a familiar shape: the defending champions and a resurgent European side in command, with the newcomers left to chase a best-third-place pathway.

Austria’s next assignment — a de facto group decider against Argentina in Dallas — will measure how far Rangnick’s high-intensity project has matured since the team’s 28-year absence from the finals. For Jordan, the challenge is to absorb the lessons of a spirited but ultimately losing debut and target points against Algeria to keep their knockout-stage hopes alive. In a tournament designed to broaden opportunity, both narratives remain very much in motion.