DUBAI: Jordan’s World Cup debut ended in a 3-1 loss to Austria at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Wednesday morning, despite a brave performance that promised a potential point for the newcomers.
The loss leaves the Arab nation in third place in Group J, while Austria sit second on goal difference behind Argentina, who earlier had beaten Algeria 3-0 thanks to a Lionel Messi hat trick.
Jordan had started their first-ever participation in the competition in confident fashion, as if undaunted by the historical magnitude of the occasion.
The men of Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami initially packed their backline when defending but looked to find the twin danger men of Mousa Al-Taamari and Ali Alwan when breaking forward.
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup finalists had the first real chance of the night when Odeh Fakhoury, who plays his club football for Pyramids in Egypt, stung the hands of Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager with a fine effort from outside the penalty area.
But it was Austria who broke the deadlock minutes later when Romano Schmid’s fierce drive from similar distance left Jordan’s No. 1 Yazeed Abulaila helpless as the ball sailed past him.
It was Austria’s first goal since scoring against Italy at the 1998 World Cup in France.
Jordan almost responded immediately when Alwan headed onto the bar and to safety from a well-worked corner routine by Fakhoury and Mohannad Abu-Tahah.
Jordan’s best chance to level the match came after 34 minutes when Alwan’s shot from inside the Austrian penalty box was saved by Schlager and before Al-Taamari’s shot from the rebound was blocked by Philipp Lienhart.
In first-half stoppage time, Al-Taamari’s dazzling run off the right wing ended with a weak shot that trickled out for an Austrian goal kick. At the break, Sellami would have been pleased by his team’s response to going behind.
Five minutes into the second half came the moment all Jordanian fans had waited for, Alwan creating history with a stunning finish at the end of a powerful run from his own half.
After the Jordanian players celebrated their first-ever goal at the World Cup by performing the Islamic sujood, the scorer held up the No. 11 jersey of missing teammate Yazan Al-Naimat, whose serious knee injury at the Arab Cup earlier this year has kept him out of the tournament.
Jordan, to the clear discomfort of Austrian coach Ralf Rangnick, were now in the ascendency, forcing the European team into a triple substitution with 30 minutes of play left.
One of those introduced, 37-year-old Marko Arnautovic, looked to have restored Austria’s lead on 68 minutes after some questionable goalkeeping by Abulaila had provided him with an opening.
The Jordanian players complained that Stefan Posch had handled the ball in the build up to the finish, and a VAR check confirmed the infringement and the goal was ruled out.
Jordan’s aerial uncertainty in defense would come back to haunt them after the rehydration break when a 76th-minute corner was diverted into Abulaila’s goal by Yazan Al-Arab.
With minutes left on the clock, Jordan star man Al-Taamari, who has shone for Ligue 1 club Rennes this season, was replaced by Mohammad Al-Daoud, while Fakhoury made way for Ali Azaizeh.
Despite 10 additional minutes of stoppage time, this last throw of the dice failed to bring an equalizer for the Nashama, with Azaizeh shooting wide from Jordan’s first shot since their goal in the second half.
In fact, it was Austria who grabbed a third from the penalty spot, Arnautovic converting with the last kick of the match.
