Austrian football fans have waited 28 years to see their national team return to the FIFA World Cup. In Group J, Austria will compete against defending champions Argentina, African powerhouse Algeria, and tournament debutants Jordan.
Austria begin their campaign against Jordan, a match widely viewed as their best opportunity to secure three valuable points.
Austria head into the tournament in excellent form, having won three consecutive warm-up matches. Across all competitions, Ralf Rangnick’s side have lost only once in their last ten matches, recording eight victories during that span.
However, Austria’s recent corner statistics have been less impressive. Only three of those ten matches produced an Over result in the corner market. More notably, Austria have failed to earn more than four corners in seven of their last eight matches.
Jordan, meanwhile, have gone five consecutive matches without a win in regular time, including friendly defeats to Switzerland and Colombia. Despite being considered one of the underdogs in Group J and currently ranked 63rd in the FIFA rankings, Jordan have posted respectable corner numbers. Over their last four matches, they have averaged more than 5.2 corners per game.
Based on recent trends, Jordan look capable of competing strongly in the corner markets despite being clear underdogs on the scoreboard.
Prediction: Jordan to win the corner handicap & Over corners (Full Match)
First-Half Corner Kick Prediction
Only two of Austria’s last eight matches have reached the five-corner mark before halftime.
Furthermore, Austria have managed more than two first-half corners in just two of those eight fixtures. Jordan have also shown relatively low first-half corner production, with four of their last five matches finishing Under the first-half corner line.
These trends point toward a low corner count during the opening 45 minutes.
Prediction: Jordan to win the first-half corner handicap & Under first-half corners
Team News
Austria
- Patrick Wimmer, Florian Grillitsch, and David Alaba are dealing with injury concerns ahead of the match.
- Captain David Alaba is considered the most likely of the three to feature in the starting lineup.
Jordan
- Ibrahim Sabra has withdrawn from the squad and has been replaced by Mohammad Taha.
- Key striker Yazan Al Naimat, who scored eight goals during the World Cup qualifying campaign, will miss the tournament due to injury.
Probable Lineups
Austria
Alexander Schlager; Konrad Laimer, Gernot Trauner, David Alaba, Phillipp Mwene; Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald; Romano Schmid, Marcel Sabitzer, Michael Gregoritsch; Marko Arnautović.
Jordan
Yazeed Abulaila; Obaid, Al-Arab, Nasib; Haddad, Al Rashdan, Al Rawabdeh, Mohammad Taha; Mousa Al-Tamari, Olwan, Fakhouri.
Head-to-Head Record
Austria and Jordan have never faced each other before in an official international match.
Betting Tips Summary
Full Match Corners
- Jordan to win the corner handicap
- Over total corners
First-Half Corners
- Jordan to win the first-half corner handicap
- Under first-half corners
While Austria are favored to win the match itself, recent corner statistics suggest that Jordan may offer better value in the corner handicap markets. Austria’s relatively low corner output and Jordan’s consistent ability to generate set-piece opportunities make the Asian side an interesting selection for corner bettors.