Bay Area fans impress in World Cup's first late weeknight kickoff
SANTA CLARA - Amid a near-capacity Levi's Stadium crowd Tuesday night at Levi's Stadium, there were flags, cheers, jeers, boos, light shows, a brief scuffle, highlight goals and even a wave across over two raucous hours of World Cup soccer.
Not even a 9 p.m. start time and exorbitant ticket prices kept away the fans, who showed up in droves despite neither Austria nor Jordan having a deep connection to the Bay Area.
They marched dozens deep across the parking lots and filled the stadium with passion, singing, cheering and chanting their way through 90-plus minutes of dynamic gameplay that saw Austria win 3-1.
In a venue where circumstances would have indicated a tepid response to a less-than-blockbuster matchup, Santa Clara hosted a display of what the World Cup can be at its best.
"The fans, we've seen them fully present in the stadium," Jordan coach Jamal Sellami said. "And I’m sure they weren’t happy about the result, but I’m sure they're proud of the players and their performance."
Jordan, which brought the vocal majority of the fans in its first World Cup appearance, gave Austria an inspired challenge after coming into the tournament as the No. 63 nation in FIFA's global rankings. Austria ranked 24th.
The Middle Eastern nation with a population of roughly 11.5 million was making its World Cup debut in the first edition of a 48-team field, and its fans showed out, sporting traditional keffiyehs, hundreds of national flags and the euphoria of a country witnessing something special for the first time.
Jordan's players soaked in the moment as they took the field for pregame warmups, basking in the World Cup glow and capturing it on their phones as they swiveled around the stadium.
"Our performance is one of pride," Sellami said.
The Jordanian supporters exploded with joy when Ali Olwan equalized in the 50th minute and again when Austria striker Marko Arnautovic's would-be go-ahead goal was wiped away after a VAR review just before the second-half hydration break.
But the Austrian fans made their presence felt as well, forming a red wall on the north side of the stadium and letting out 28 years' worth of joy after reaching the World Cup for the first time since 1988.
Some fans wore lederhosen and others painted their faces and even their bodies with the colors of the Austrian flag. But they all had two things in common – they wore red, and they were loud.
"Even before the match, I saw a video of the fans celebrating in San Jose and San Francisco," Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said. "It was a very peaceful atmosphere in the stadium. Both groups supported their teams.
"Neither country is around the corner, and both groups of fans came a long way and showed up. The fans were great even when we were warming up. The atmosphere was great."
The announced crowd of 68,527 – exactly 300 fans fewer than Levi's Stadium's listed maximum World Cup capacity of 68,827 – largely filled all three levels of the structure. There were a number of empty seats visible, though fewer than those seen during Saturday's midday Santa Clara opener between Qatar and Switzerland.
FIFA has been criticized already during the tournament for its tendency to announce crowd sizes that appear to inflate the visible totals in the stadium. But whatever the exact number was, Levi's was full of passionate fans who set a high bar for future World Cup night games in Santa Clara.
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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 8:29 AM.