- Austria have won four and drawn one of their last five matches, including a 1-0 victory over Tunisia and a 1-0 win against Republic of Korea in Friendly International Matches 2026.
- Jordan are winless in their last five (D3, L2) and have lost two back-to-back away fixtures to Switzerland (4-1) and Colombia (2-0).
- Austria have won eight, drawn one and lost one of their last ten matches in all competitions.
Jordan's World Cup dream comes to San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
Jordan's first-ever appearance in a FIFA World Cup kicks off in the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Wednesday, when they face an Austria side that have come on in leaps and bounds under coach Ralf Rangnick.
The former RB Leipzig and Manchester United boss has developed a well-octane 4-2-3-1 system around high gegenpressing that smothers opponents in their own half and quickly transitions from defence to attack.
Konrad Laimer's pace and dynamism in central midfield have been the perfect foil to this pressing system while the quality of players around him in the attacking areas ensures that Austria are always a threat, even if they don't win the ball back in dangerous areas.
Sabitzer in fine form for Rangers
Marcel Sabitzer's three goals in the last five games highlights the Austrian's form and shows that they are finishing teams off clinically.
Arnautović is still a key player for his country and his ability to create space and pick out teammates when it gets tight could be the difference in what is likely to be a cagey first half.
Jordan will come to the game with a plan to sit deep and frustrate the Austrians with a compact low block before looking to counter attack with direct play or set pieces.
Jamal Sellami has instilled a real sense of discipline and pragmatism in his players since taking over in June 2024 and they can frustrate much bigger and better sides than Austria, who look to be the rightful favourites here.
Falcons have struggled in recent away games
Sellami will have his side set up to sit in and make it difficult for Austria to play their high-pressing game with Yazan Al-Arab leading the line in defence and Ali Olwan a threat at set pieces and on the break.
Mousa Al-Tamari's pace and dribbling could be Jordan's most likely outlet if they do win the ball in dangerous positions, but their form is a concern going into this.
They have won one, drawn four and lost five of their last 10 in all competitions, which doesn't suggest they will be ready for the stage and have the grit to hold out against a very good Austria side.
Austria have won three consecutive games to come into this game with momentum and will be looking to establish themselves as favourites to make the second round of the World Cup as Group J 2026 runners-up.
Their recent form doesn't really factor in here, but they have dominated their matches in recent times and can easily do so against a Jordan side that has been poor recently.
Backing Austria to win this game is almost a banker at 17/50 and Jordan's price of 89/10 is a massive underdog. The value play here is probably 'Both teams to score - No' at 3/4 as a Jordan goal seems unlikely given their recent struggles in attack.
