Austria are back on the World Cup stage for the first time since 1998 and will be expected to make a winning start when they face tournament debutants Jordan in their Group J opener at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Wednesday.
Ralf Rangnick’s side arrive in strong form after winning all three of their World Cup warm-up matches, while Jordan head into their first-ever World Cup appearance looking to end a difficult run that has seen them fail to win any of their last five games.
Austria secured qualification by finishing top of their UEFA qualifying group, edging out Bosnia & Herzegovina thanks in part to Michael Gregoritsch’s late equaliser in a crucial 1-1 draw in their final fixture. Since then, they have maintained that momentum with wins over Ghana, South Korea and Tunisia.
With tougher Group J fixtures against Argentina and Algeria still to come, Austria will view this opening match as a key opportunity to put three points on the board. The Austrians are aiming to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time since 1954.
Jordan, meanwhile, made history by qualifying for their first World Cup finals after finishing second in their AFC qualifying group. Jamal Sellami’s side impressed by reaching the Arab Cup final after qualification, but they have struggled since then, drawing two and losing two of their last four friendlies.
World Cup 2026: Austria v Jordan team news
Austria are without Christoph Baumgartner, who was forced to miss the tournament through injury and has been replaced in the squad by Dejan Ljubicic.
Patrick Wimmer, Florian Grillitsch and David Alaba have all been carrying fitness concerns, although Alaba is expected to be available from the start.
In Baumgartner’s absence, Romano Schmid, Marcel Sabitzer, Michael Gregoritsch and veteran striker Marko Arnautovic are expected to form Austria’s attacking unit.
Jordan have also suffered a significant setback, with Yazan Al Naimat unavailable due to the injury that has kept him sidelined since December. The forward scored eight goals during World Cup qualifying and will be a major miss.
Ibrahim Sabra withdrew from the squad before the tournament and was replaced by Mohammad Taha.
