Arnautovic turns the tide for Austria in tense win over Jordan

Marko Arnautovic answered the call for Austria in their World Cup opener against Jordan, turning the tide in a tense 3-1 victory. The nation's all-time leading scorer, initially benched by coach Ralf Rangnick, came on at halftime and played a crucial role after Jordan equalized Schmid's first-half goal.

Arnautovic's first attempt to find the net was disallowed after a VAR review ruled a handball in the buildup. However, fortune favored Austria again when a corner resulted in an own goal off Jordan's Yazan Al Arab. Arnautovic then sealed the win with a penalty in the 12th minute of stoppage time, his 48th goal in a record 134th appearance.

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Kalajdzic did very well in the training sessions for the last two weeks, and so it was just logical to have him start today. He struggled a little bit when it came to the intensity and the physical need of this tournament, so that’s when I brought in Marko at halftime. Marko was also very important, and his physical presence was very important to us.

Rangnick defended his decision to start Sasa Kalajdzic, citing his strong training performance, but acknowledged Arnautovic's vital physical presence in the second half. The win places Austria second in Group J, setting up an anticipated clash with defending champions Argentina.

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It doesn’t get more exciting than that to be able to face this opponent from the get-go. I don’t remember if Austria even played against these opponents before, from three different continents. This is why it is called World Cup. Everybody is so happy to be in a World Cup.