Austria and Jordan open Group J at Levi's Stadium on 17 June 2026, with Austria returning after a 28 year absence while Jordan arrive fresh from qualifying for the first time, having beaten Oman 3-0 to seal their spot - the two sides having no meaningful competitive history between them, making this effectively a first meeting at senior international level. With Argentina and Algeria also in the group, both sides know a loss here makes the path ahead considerably harder.
Ralf Rangnick and Jamal Sellami have never faced each other at senior level, with Rangnick building his high pressing system since taking charge in 2022 whereas Sellami, appointed in August 2024, has kept Jordan focused on a compact defensive structure.
Austria arrive in good shape after a strong qualifying campaign and a round of 16 run at Euro 2024, carrying that form into their 2026 warmups: a 1-0 win over Tunisia in June, 1-0 over South Korea and a 5-1 thrashing of Ghana in March, all of it consistent with a team built to press high and transition quickly.
Jordan come in on a more mixed note, though that is partly expected for a side making their World Cup debut. They beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 before a narrow loss to Morocco showed where the ceiling currently sits. Their game plan is fairly clear: stay compact in a low block and release Al-Tamari in behind when Austria's press gets stretched.
Austria's main injury concern is Christoph Baumgartner, while David Alaba, Florian Grillitsch and Patrick Wimmer are all doubts, though Alaba is expected to start, which matters given how much Austria lean on his distribution from the back and no suspensions complicate Rangnick's selection. Jordan are without Yazan Al-Naimat, sidelined since December 2025 with a knee injury and Ibrahim Sabra, who withdrew late and was replaced by Mohammad Taha.
Austria's approach is well documented: press high, recover quickly and use Sabitzer and Laimer to pin Jordan's central midfielders back and control the press recovery cycle. Jordan's 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 setup is designed to absorb exactly that kind of pressure, staying compact and looking to spring Mousa Al-Tamari in space on the counter. If Nicolas Seiwald and Konrad Laimer can keep Nizar Al-Rashdan and Noor Al-Rawabdeh pinned back, the scoreline could stay tighter for longer but if they cannot, Marko Arnautovic will be the central test for Jordan's defenders Yazan Al-Arab and Abdallah Nasib.
Austria 2-1 Jordan. Austria should have enough pressing intensity and midfield control to break Jordan down, with Arnautovic leading the line and Sabitzer arriving from deep. Al-Tamari has the pace to hurt Austria if they lose the ball high up the pitch, so a clean sheet feels unlikely.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
