They had never been here before. When Jordan walk out at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Wednesday morning UK time, it will be the first time they have played a World Cup match — a debut against Ralf Rangnick's Austria in Group J. The Asian side, managed by Jamal Sellami, will lean on Rennes star Mousa Al-Taamari for inspiration, though they will be without forwards Ibrahim Sabra and Yazan Al-Naimat, who missed selection. Austria, back at a World Cup for the first time in 28 years, boast a Bundesliga-heavy core including Borussia Dortmund's Marcel Sabitzer, Red Star Belgrade's Marko Arnautovic and Real Madrid defender David Alaba. Rangnick's side conceded only four goals in qualifying, sealing automatic qualification in impressive fashion.
The match kicks off at 5am BST and will be shown live on BBC One, with streaming on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. In the US, it airs on FOX and Telemundo. That game is one of several on a packed day of action. France, beaten finalists in 2022, began their campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal, Kylian Mbappe starring as Les Bleus made a statement. Elsewhere, England face Croatia in their first match, and a poll by More in Common found that half of English adults say they are proud of the men’s national team, rising to 59% for Gen Z.
“Jordan make their World Cup debut against Austria as France beat Senegal 3-1 in the 2026 tournament.”
The BBC is broadcasting 54 matches live from the tournament, including the final on 19 July, with 92 games on BBC Sounds and every match covered on the BBC Sport website and app. The Guardian, meanwhile, has launched a bracketology interactive allowing fans to predict a path to victory through the group stage and knockouts.
Jordan’s task is daunting: they share Group J with Argentina and Algeria as well as Austria. But for first-time participants, simply being on the pitch is a triumph in itself.