It’s been 28 years since Austria, re-energized under the management of former Manchester United interim coach Ralf Rangnick, appeared at the World Cup. It’s been 44 years since Austria made it beyond the group stage. Some would say it’s return is long overdue.
Jordan is one of four debutants at this summer of soccer greatness, having benefitted from FIFA’s expansion of the tournament to 48 teams. Still, it is punching well above its weight, sitting a meagre 63rd in FIFA’s world rankings, some 39 places below Austria.
Recent form suggests Austria will hit the ground running—four wins in five with 10 goals scored a pretty good return—whereas Jordan know it is up against it. A heavy 4–1 friendly defeat to Switzerland was an insight into what the World Cup could be all about, and the subsequent 2–0 loss to Ecuador only reinforced those feelings. Expect Austria to score, likely a couple of times at least.
