Can Jordan shock in its World Cup debut in Bay Area vs. Austria?

SANTA CLARA – The World Cup’s most stunning result through five days came Monday, when Cape Verde made its first-ever appearance and delivered a scoreless draw against Spain.

Jordan is seeking a similarly grand debut Tuesday night, when it faces Austria at 9 p.m. at Levi's Stadium.

"We are grateful to participate for the first time in our history. It is a source of great pride," Jordanian captain and defender Ehsan Haddad said Monday. "We don't feel pressure. We feel pride. It was a dream to be here."

Four countries are in the World Cup for the first time, the others are Curaçao (lost 7-1 to Germany on Sunday in Houston) and Uzbekistan (opens Wednesday against Colombia in Mexico City).

"We have seen many surprises during this World Cup if you look at the matches and outcome," Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said. "This is not going to be very easy or a walkover. We will face stern examination and it will be an uncomfortable opponent (that) tries to lure you in, absolve the pressure and use the open space for counterattacks."

Jordan entered the World Cup ranked 63rd in the world, two spots ahead of Cape Verde; Uzebekistan was 50th, Curaçao 82nd.

"Of course nobody is expecting us to get to the finals," Haddad added. "We need to represent our national team, our national spirit. "

A year ago, Jordan clinched its World Cup reservation with a 3-0 win over Oman, then more encouragement came in December by reaching the Arab Cup Final, where Jordan got edged by Morocco 3-2.

"Our presence here at the World Cup is, in and of itself, a source of glory. We are making history," Jordan coach Jamal Sellami said. "Naturally, the first match is going to be important and a historic pathway.

"We will face a tough opponent," Sellami added. "The most important thing is to start the game on a good note, because we know there is a fear of beginnings and a lack of experience."

While Austria boasts more players who've competed at soccer's higher levels, this is its first World Cup appearance in 28 years. This latest berth came by finishing first in its UEFA qualifying group, including a 10-0 rout of San Marino.

"Austria is one of the best teams," Sellami said. "Others may have stars, but for Austria, the team is the star, maybe the coach, because they play very well."

Keying Jordan's offense is Mousa Al-Tamari, who eight years ago was nicknamed the "Jordanian Messi" en route to the Cypriot title. Jordan lost striker Yazan Al-Naimat to a torn ACL last December.

Haddad, 32, said hearing the national anthem will be Jordan's greatest motivator, aside from seeing Arab countries’ early success in recent days.

"We went through pressure and it got us here. His highness, Prince Hussain, said that without pressure we can't do anything. We feel responsibility more than pressure," Haddad said. "The pressure we used to feel was always something positive."

Neither he nor his coach frowned upon the 9 p.m. PT kickoff time, not after the club acclimated to the time-zone change by embedding itself in Portland before arriving Sunday in the Bay Area. The Austria side echoed that, noting that most European and Champion League matches start at similar times.

"Because we arrived early we have recovered from the jet lag and adapted very well," Austria captain and defender David Alaba. "The timing is going to be perfect because we're all used to playing in the evening. Weather-wise, the conditions will be great."

Sweltering heat accompanied the first World Cup game at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, a 1-1 draw between Qatar and Switzerland. Attendance was announced as 67,966, just shy of capacity for these World Cup games at 68,827; A crowd of 70,823 attended Super Bowl 60 in February.

"The weather is going to be better compared to other games earlier in the day, so we have time, and, God willing, we will give it our best,” Sallami said.

The forecast Tuesday calls for temperatures in the high 60s. Jordan's other games in Group J also will come at night, next Monday at 8 p.m. here against Algeria, then June 27 against Argentina in Dallas at 7 p.m. CT.

While this is the largest World Cup field, with its expansion from 32 to 48 teams, Jordan is looking to become the first to reach the knockout stage in a maiden appearance since Slovakia in 2010. Other memorable first-time appearances were the third-place efforts from Portugal (1966) and Croatia (1998), while those reaching the Round of 16 were Costa Rica (1990), Nigeria (1994), Saudi Arabia (1994), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2006).

This is Austria's eighth World Cup, having made a victorious debut against France in 1934, in the second-ever World Cup.

"The first game is always important, and the performance will have repercussions and reverberate throughout," Sellami said. "We'll play with the perfect lineup and hope players perform well."

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 5:41 PM.