Arnautovic's stoppage-time penalty was the cherry — and a notable one, given he became Austria's oldest World Cup scorer. It wasn't dominant football, but 3 points is 3 points. Sasa Kalajdzic led the line, David Alaba marshaled the back, and Alexander Schlager wasn't seriously tested outside of Olwan's finish. Austria leave the opener with their group math in decent shape.
For a World Cup debut, this wasn't a no-show. Jordan went into the break a goal down and came out swinging — Ali Olwan's finish in the 50th minute briefly flipped the night on its head and gave the Asian Cup runners-up a real foothold in the match. The defensive shape held up for long stretches and the xG gap (1.66 to 0.53) flatters Austria more than the eye test did.
Then the cruel stuff happened. Yazan Al Arab's own goal in the 76th took the wind out of the comeback, and once they had to chase, the legs went and Arnautovic punished them from the spot in stoppage time. Moussa Al Taamari never quite got loose on the counter, and Yazeed Abdulla was busier than the scoreline suggests. Tough debut, but not an embarrassing one.
The market had Austria around 70% to win and it played out about how the books drew it up — Austria favored, Jordan a live dog, draw the middle option. The scoreline matches the read; the football was tighter than the price.
The group is still Argentina's to lose at 85.5% on the live board, but Austria's R16 odds now sit at 36% and Jordan's drop to 4.3%. Next up: Jordan need a result against Algeria to stay alive, and Austria get the Argentina test that decides whether second place is theirs to claim.
Spain0-3
Algeria3-3
Argentina0-2
Jordan3-1Argentina1-3Algeria1-2Austria1-3