SANTA CLARA, California, June 17 (Reuters) - Austria coach Ralf Rangnick saluted the quality of the World Cup's debutants after his team rode their luck in a 3-1 win over Jordan on Tuesday.
Austria were at times exposed by a bold Jordan side playing their first World Cup game and, despite going into the contest as favourites, only wrapped up victory with substitute Marko Arnautovic's penalty in the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time.
Expectations for Austria had been raised by an impressive performance at Euro 2024 but they may be tempered by Tuesday's display, especially ahead of a game against Group J leaders Argentina, who beat Algeria 3-0.
Rangnick, however, credited Jordan for keeping his side in check.
"I think it's due to the opponent," the coach said when asked why Austria struggled.
"Jordan did a fantastic job throughout the match. We expected a difficult opponent, we knew that they were going to be anything but easy, but today they displayed a very brave kind of football. They exceeded my expectations.
"I know that some of you thought that we would be the favourite in this match, but we were definitely not."
Rangnick said he welcomed the fact that the World Cup's expansion to 48 teams gave more countries a chance to participate, calling it "an enriching experience".
But he also said the so-called smaller nations were not just making up the numbers, referring to Spain's shock draw with Cape Verde, Australia's surprise win over Turkey and Haiti's gritty performance against Scotland.
"It's not that easy to win during this tournament – we have 48 teams and there is not going to be one easy opponent," he said.
"The teams now have really caught up in the last 15 years or so, so there are really no easy teams."
(Reporting by Sam Tobin in Seattle; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
