Austria returns from long World Cup absence with nervy 3-1 win over debutants Jordan

Austria marked its return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence with a tense 3-1 win over debutants Jordan in their Group J opener Tuesday, relying on a second-half own goal and a last-gasp penalty to claim the three points.

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Austria took the lead on 20 minutes through a Romano Schmid thunderbolt, but were pegged back five minutes after the break when striker Ali Olwan found space in the area and fired a sizzling shot inside the far post.

Austria’s veteran target man Marko Arnautovic slammed a low shot into the net from a goalmouth scramble in the 69th minute but it was ruled out for handball by teammate Stefan Posch following a VAR review.

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Seven minutes later, though, Austria were celebrating again as Yazan Al‑Arab deflected a Marcel Sabitzer corner into his own net, before Arnautovic slotted home a penalty deep into stoppage time after Saleem Obeid was penalized for handball.

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