- Team form: Austria have won four and drawn one of their last five matches, beating Republic of Korea and Tunisia 1-0 in consecutive home games.
- Recent form: Jordan are winless in their last five (D3, L2), including a 4-1 away loss to Switzerland in March.
- Home record: Austria have won their last three consecutive matches and are unbeaten in six at home (W5, D1).
Tactical clash set to favour Austria
Austria are the strong favorites to kick off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a win over tournament debutants Jordan, who have struggled for results in the build-up to the competition. Ralf Rangnick's side have really turned a corner in the past 12 months under the ex-RB Leipzig boss, who has implemented an intense gegenpressing system that suits many of his players. Austria have won eight, drawn one and lost just one of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
Austria's style
The team that can make the most of a set of numbers in the 4-2-3-1 system are the hosts, who can get in behind teams and make things happen in the wide areas with their two number tens in front of them.
Opposing Jordan
Jamal Sellami has moulded this team into a well-organised 4-1-4-1 that is much more difficult to play against than the one they had a year ago. Jordan's teams are compact and very organised, looking to get players behind the ball and stop opponents from playing at their own pace.
He will be the main outlet for Jordan in the counter-attacking game, which is likely to be their best chance of getting on the scoresheet on Wednesday.
- Marcel Sabitzer has been their attacking talisman of late, scoring three of their last ten goals in all competitions, while Marko Arnautović and Christoph Baumgartner provide even more of a goal threat, particularly from the left.
- Musa Al-Taamari is Jordan's biggest threat on the day, with the winger capable of creating and scoring goals from wide areas at speed.
- Yazan Al-Naimat is a good foil for Al-Taamari as he has the ability to drive forward from deep and hit accurate long passes, while Noor Al-Rawabdeh is the organiser in the centre of the park.
- No Jordan team in the last decade has ever reached the World Cup and while this one is the best they have had, there will be little expectation on them to win a match.
Hosts’ quality could tell
With Austria expected to dominate possession, they should have enough of the ball to break Jordan down and create quality chances. Austria are 1.34 favorites to win the match and Jordan are 9.9, which is a bit on the short side for a game this big with the 5.5 draw also a shade too short.
But the value does lie with the hosts, who have been playing at a higher level than Jordan for some time and will be desperate to make a statement.
They have won their last three games and can beat a Jordan team that has lost consecutive away games. So, a home win is my pick, with the Over 2.5 goals market at 1.65 also tempting given Austria's home goal average is 3.17 and Jordan have shipped 2.40 goals per game away.
