Arnautovic seals Austria’s World Cup return with stoppage-time penalty

Austria’s first World Cup since 1998 nearly slipped into late-match chaos before Marko Arnautovic settled it from the spot in the 90+12 minute. The 3-1 win over Jordan in Group J gave Austria a hard-earned opening three points, but only after the match swung through a VAR disallowed goal, a Jordanian equaliser and an own goal that barely restored control.

Romano Schmid put Austria ahead in the 20th minute with a right-footed finish, rewarding a side that arrived in the tournament carrying a 28-year absence from the global stage. Austria had booked that return on November 18, 2025, when a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vienna secured qualification for 2026 and ended an exile that had stretched back to 1998. Under Ralf Rangnick, Austria entered the tournament intent on making its eighth World Cup appearance count.

Jordan, making its debut in a men’s World Cup, answered after the break through Ali Olwan. The equaliser changed the tempo immediately and forced Austria into a far less comfortable game than the opening goal had suggested. Every attacking move from then on carried more weight, and every defensive lapse looked costly.

Arnautovic then appeared to have restored Austria’s lead, only for the goal to be wiped out after video review showed a handball by Stefan Posch in the build-up. The decision left the match balanced again and heightened the tension around a result that had already begun to look fragile. Austria had to absorb Jordan’s pressure while searching for a way back into control.

The decisive break came when Yazan Al-Arab turned the ball into his own net, putting Austria back in front and shifting the burden onto Jordan. Even then, the match was not settled. Austria still needed one last intervention after the referee pointed to the penalty spot in stoppage time, and Arnautovic converted in the 90+12 minute to finish the job at last.

The sequence underlined how thin the margin can be in tournament football: one overturned goal, one own goal, one penalty and a debutant opponent were enough to turn Austria’s return into a lesson in game management. In the end, Austria opened the World Cup with the sort of late drama that can define a group-stage campaign before it properly begins.