Arnautovic decisive as Austria triumph over Jordan on World Cup return

SANTA CLARA, California, June 16 : Austria celebrated their long-awaited return to the World Cup with a 3-1 win over determined debutants Jordan on Tuesday, with substitute Marko Arnautovic the difference in a gritty, end-to-end Group J match.

In a tense game on a brisk night in the San Francisco Bay Area, Austria went ahead with a 21st-minute thunderbolt from Romano Schmid before Jordan fought back after the break through Ali Olwan's exquisite strike in off the post.

The catalyst for the Austrian victory was the halftime introduction of 37-year-old Arnautovic, who pressured defender Yazan Al Arab into a 76th-minute own goal before converting a perfect penalty deep into stoppage time.

The 3-1 scoreline perhaps flattered Austria, who were caught off guard by the pace of Jordan's counterattacks as they looked to make their mark in their first-ever appearance at the showpiece event. 

The victory puts Austria second in Group J behind defending champions Argentina, who beat Algeria 3-0 in Kansas City earlier on Tuesday.   

Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer said he was relieved to get the win after a tough opening encounter. 

"We knew that this was going to be a difficult match," he said. 

"What's important is the mentality of the entire team. We never gave up, we kept going until the end and finally we came out on top."

28-YEAR WORLD CUP ABSENCE

Jordan defended resolutely and were fierce on the break, with the pace of forwards Olwan and Mousa Al-Tamari a constant threat to Austria, who were playing at their first World Cup in 28 years.

The match got off to a frenetic start, with Jordan causing a scare two minutes in with a counter-attack that led to captain Ehsan Haddad blasting low into the side netting.

Austria soon got into their