⚽️ Kick-off time: 9pm local/2pm AEST/5am BST/12am EDT
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Meanwhile in Kansas City…. it may come as no surprise that Lionel Messi has taken just 76 minutes to stamp his mark on the tournament with a hat-trick for reigning champions Argentina in their opener against Algeria. Austria and Jordan must be quaking in their boots. Join Jonathan Howcroft for what remains of that Group J game.
The streets and cafes of Amman will be heaving this morning as Jordan make their World Cup debut. John Duerden looks at how Al-Nashama booked their ticket – and what to expect against Austria at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
Jordan v Austria has been used as an example of a game that will challenge Fifa’s dynamic pricing system but regardless of how full the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium is, the cafes in Amman’s Prince Muhammad Street and all around the country will be packed. They were a year ago, as fans watched Portugal beat Spain in the Uefa Nations League final, three days after the World Cup spot had been secured with the city still buzzing with the thought of Al-Nashama (The Chivalrous Ones) taking on the superstars of the world and … here they are.
But while Jordan may be more about team spirit, organisation and counterattacking, they have stars of their own. In the days after qualification, the faces of the big three forwards featured on billboards everywhere you looked, though they have had differing fortunes since.