SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, June 16 (Reuters) – For much of Austria’s 3-1 win in their World Cup opener against Jordan on Tuesday, it seemed the nation’s all-time highest scorer, Marko Arnautovic, had the short end of the stick.
It started with coach Ralf Rangnick leaving the 37-year-old striker on the bench, while putting the towering Sasa Kalajdzic in the veteran’s usual place at the front of Austria’s starting 11.
Brought on at halftime after Kalajdzic struggled with the flow of the game, Arnautovic watched aghast as Ali Olwan cancelled out Romano Schmid’s first-half rocket with a brilliant equaliser.
A rescue job was needed and Arnautovic answered the call, finding the net from a goalmouth scramble after a clumsy double-punch by Jordan’s goalkeeper failed to clear the ball.
However, the goal was chalked off for handball following a VAR review, with the referee deciding the ball had touched the upper arm of Austria’s Stefan Posch in the buildup.
It seemed a harsh call for Austria, who were playing their first World Cup match in 28 years.
Seven minutes later, though, Arnautovic was celebrating again as his marker Yazan Al Arab deflected the ball off his back into his own net from a corner.
Another stroke of fortune saw Arnautovic cap the night by thumping in from the spot in the 12th minute of stoppage time. Austria were awarded the penalty after Arnautovic’s shot hit the arm of a prone Saleem Obeid.
The goal was the striker’s 48th in a record 134th appearance for Austria.
Rangnick praised Arnautovic for his contribution but defended his decision to leave him out of the starting lineup.
“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 told reporters.
“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 also was very important, and his physical presence was very important to us.”
The victory put Austria second in Group J behind defending champions Argentina, who they face next on June 22.
Rangnick was relishing the chance to plot against Argentina and Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick in their 3-0 win over Algeria.
“It doesn’t get more exciting than that to be able to face this opponent from the get-go,” he said.
“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.” (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
