2026 World Cup: Austria vs. Jordan, Probable Lineups

Fans in Austria and Jordan will have to wake up early in the morning to watch their respective national teams face off on the first day of Group J at the 2026 World Cup: it will be 6 a.m. in Central Europe (including Italy), and 7 a.m. in the Middle Eastern country, when Mauritanian referee Beida will kick off the match at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers—though, curiously, it’s a fifty-minute drive from San Francisco itself.

Austria has not participated in the World Cup since 1998: a lackluster tournament for Das Team, which finished with two draws and one loss (the latter a 2-1 defeat to Italy) and failed to advance past the group stage. For their best result, we have to go back to 1954: the Austrians finished in third place, losing 6-1 to Germany in the semifinals but beating Uruguay 3-1 in the third-place match. In 1990, however, they recorded their last World Cup victory: a 2-1 win over the United States in Florence, though it was not enough to advance to the next round.

Jordan, on the other hand, is making its all-time debut in the World Cup, the culmination of a journey that began with its surprising qualification for the final of the 2023 Asian Cup: on that occasion, only Qatar stopped al-Nashama (“the brave ones”) in the final, with a score of 3-1. In World Cup qualifying, Jordan secured its spot at the end of the third round, finishing second in Group B behind South Korea and ahead of Iraq, Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait in the standings.

Probable lineups

AUSTRIA (4-2-3-1): A. Schlager; Laimer, Lienhart, Alaba, Mwene; X. Schalger, Seiwald; Schmid, Sabitzer, Gregoritsch; Arnautovic. Head Coach: Rangnick.

JORDAN (3-4-3): Abulaila; Obaid, Al-Arab, Nasib; Haddad, Al-Rashdan, Al-Rawabdeh, Abu Taha; Tamari, Olwan, Fakhoury. Head Coach: Sellami.