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Starmer rejects criticism of defence spending after being accused of complacency – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer says he does not agree with criticism of his defence record made by George Robertson
Kemi Badenoch asks why Lord Robertson had “corrosive complacency” on defence.
Starmer says he respects Robertson. But he does not agree with him on this. He has committed twice to raising defence spending, including by cutting aid, a difficult decision.
The defence investment plan will be published as soon as possible, he says.
Key events
Badenoch says she met Robertson last year to discuss the defence review.
Will the PM approve an upgrade that will affect HMS Dragon?
Starmer says HMS Dragon was commissioned by the last government.
He attacks Badenoch again over her record on the war.
He claims she insulted British pilots, accusing them of hanging around.
He says she is not serious.
Badenoch says this is a moment of profound national seriousness. But what are Labour doing – promoting sex toys in parliament.
That gives new meaning to the phrase fiddling while Rome burns.
Badenoch asks if the billions saved from ditching the Chagos deal will go into defence.
Starmer says the goverment is already spending more on defence. The armed forces have had the biggest pay rise for years, he says.
Badenoch says Starmer loves to misrepresent her position on the war.
She offers again to help Starmer find welfare cuts to fund higher defence spending.
Starmer ridicules Badenoch’s suggestion that she was talking about the UK offering the US just verbal support.
Badenoch says talking about an increase is not the same as giving an increase. The defence investment plan was meant to be published last autumn. “What’s the hold up?”
Starmer says he has set out his case. Badenoch called for the UK to jump into the war. He says Tory MPs shouted “shame” at him in the Commons when he declined to back the war.
He says Badenoch made the mother of all U-turns.
Lindsay Hoyle intervenes, saying it is prime minister’s questions.
Badenoch asks why the defence investment plan cannot be published before the end of this session of parliaement.
Starmer says defence spending is at a record level. Defence spending went down from 2.5% to 2.1% under the Tories. Minesweepers and destroyers were cut, he says.
Starmer says he does not agree with criticism of his defence record made by George Robertson
Kemi Badenoch asks why Lord Robertson had “corrosive complacency” on defence.
Starmer says he respects Robertson. But he does not agree with him on this. He has committed twice to raising defence spending, including by cutting aid, a difficult decision.
The defence investment plan will be published as soon as possible, he says.
Lauren Edwards (Lab) says the PM was right not to take the UK into the war against Iran. She asks what he is doing to support the armed forces, and to prepare for all eventualities.
Starmer says the government is investing in the armed forces, improving their homes, and improving recruitment. But the most important decisions are those about going to war, he says.
Keir Starmer starts by saying he will keep his promise to deliver a Hillsborough law.
Balancing UK’s welfare and defence spending ‘not zero-sum game’, minister says
James Murray, chief secretary to the Treasury, has said balancing welfare and defence spending “is not a zero-sum game”, amid stark warnings that the UK will have to increase its military budget to ensure national security during global volatility. Pippa Crerar has the story.
Starmer faces Badenoch at PMQs
PMQs is starting soon.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Streeting claims until recently he thought stories about Mandelson’s post-jail links with Epstein were ‘overblown’
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said that until recently he believed stories about Peter Mandelson maintaining a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after Epstein’s first conviction for child sex offences were “overblown”.
In his interview with Woman’s Hour, Streeting also claimed that he did not read the Financial Times story in 2023 saying that Mandelson stayed in Epstein’s house in New York while Epstein was in jail in 2009 – and that when he saw references to this on social media, he dismissed it as trolling.
Pointing out that Mandelson hosted a podcast for the Times until he was made ambassador to the US, Streeting also claimed that the media should have scrutinised Mandelson more intensely.
In the past Streeting and Mandelson were regarded as friends and allies, leading figures on the Labour right. But, after the full extent of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein emerged with the release of the Epstein files earlier this year, leading to Mandelson’s arrest over allegations that he leaked confidential government information to Epstein, Streeting abruptly distanced himself from the peer.
In a move that seemed intended to ensure the Mandelson link did not harm in a potential Labour leadership content, Streeting pre-emptively published the WhatsApp messages they had shared (ahead of their official release due to the Commons humble address vote). In an article for the Guardian, he also declared: “Contrary to what has been widely reported, I was not a close friend of Peter Mandelson.”
On Woman’s Hour, the presenter, Nuala McGovern, asked Streeting how it was possible that he did not know about how Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein extended beyond the first conviction. What it because he had not seen the 2023 reports, or because they did not concern him?
Streeting said he had not seen the reports. He went on:
I’ll be honest, when people would pop up on social media laying those sorts of charges, they tended to be the sort of people who appear in your timeline trolling. And I just didn’t think it could be credible that [Mandelson] would have had that kind of relationship.
Asked to explain this more, Streeting said the original report was not “a big story at the time”, and he had not read it at the time.
This showed how Mandelson was not being held to account, he said.
So, the FT did a report, but I don’t remember seeing it in other newspapers. Mandelson still had a podcast. He was appearing regularly on really big news programmes. And so, to be honest, the only time I remember seeing stuff, Mandleson/Epstein, you just think, ‘I haven’t seen that from a credible news source, he hasn’t been questioned, I think that must be overblown’.
Asked if he questioned his judgment now, Streeting replied: “Of course, absolutely.”
He said there has been a political failure to ask Mandelson full questions about his ongoing relationship with Epstein. “It is also, I think, a media failure,” he said.
And, linking to the main subject of his interview (see 10.13am), he concluded:
I think it stems from the same root cause, which is those women [Epstein’s victims], those girls, not being taken seriously enough, their experiences not mattering enough and being prioritised. And that is exactly the sort of sexism and misogyny at the root of the issue, I’m afraid. And I think all of us have to take responsibility for that.
In the light of what George Robertson, who led the strategic defence review for Labour, said about defence spending in his speech last night, there’s a good chance Kemi Badenoch will choose to raise this at PMQs later.
She may well raise the Times’s splash, which says Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is proposing to raise defence spending by less than £10bn over the next four years.
In their story, Steven Swinford and Larisa Brown report:
The State of It political podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times has been told that Reeves is unwilling to break her fiscal rules or increase taxes to boost defence spending.
John Healey, the defence secretary, is pressing for a bigger increase as there are concerns that £10bn will not be enough, given the increasing likelihood that British forces will be deployed to Ukraine and the Middle East.
The internal rows over defence spending have led to more than six months of delays to the publication of the defence investment plan, which is supposed to set out the blueprint for funding over the next decade.
The Guardian is siding with Reeves, not Robertson, in this argument. Here is our leader on the topic.
And here is an extract.
Lord Robertson produced his first SDR as Tony Blair’s defence secretary in 1998, and the historian David Edgerton noted then that Britain was committing itself “to acting primarily with the USA in a wide-ranging programme of global policing”. The structure of the armed forces is designed not for autonomous defence but because “the composition … is what allows Britain to be the USA’s principal partner”. Only 15% to 20% of spending, Prof Edgerton reckoned, related to purely national defence. In that sense, the model Lord Robertson now defends was never primarily about defending the UK at all. It was about plugging into a US system and piggybacking on its arms industry base.
The Treasury is right to question prioritising defence now. Cutting welfare would hit demand and weaken growth. As Khem Rogaly of the Common Wealth thinktank argues, defence spending provides a weak economic stimulus compared with public investment – and is even worse as a job creator. Moreover, the UK is not using higher defence spending to build its own independent military, but to reshape its armed forces around a US-style venture capital and tech ecosystem. With Mr Trump in office, there is no better time to ask: whose security are we funding – Britain’s or America’s?
On Woman’s Hour Wes Streeting has just referred to the “BBC graph” illustrating his point about how waiting times for women were growing under the Tories more than they were for men. (See 10.13am.)
He was talking about this chart showing how between February 2020 and January 2026 the gynaecological waiting list in England doubled.
Streeting says women’s health strategy will help tackle ‘culture of medical misogyny’ in NHS
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is taking questions on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour now about the women’s health strategy for women. You can listen here.
Explaining why the women’s health strategy has been reissued, he cited two factors.
In part, the failure to deliver timely access to care for women can be explained by the generally poor performance we saw in the NHS, which was declining year on year [before Labour took office].
We started to arrest that decline. Waiting lists are now falling but – and the BBC’s data and report today shows this really clearly – while it is true to say that waiting lists rose for the general population, they rose even faster and higher in women’s health care, particularly around the [gynaecology] waiting list, for example.
And I think that is a symptom of a deeper culture … which is a culture of medical misogyny, sexism in the NHS, both conscious and unconscious bias, which means even in an NHS that’s getting worse or was getting worse for everyone, it was getting disproportionately worse for women.
JL Partners has not yet published the details of its May elections poll featured in the Telegraph’s splash. But here is some details from Tony Diver’s Telegraph write-up.
On Wales
The Telegraph’s projection shows that Plaid will be the largest party in Wales for the first time, winning 33 of the 96 seats, followed by Reform with 29 and Labour with 17.
On English local elections
Of the 136 English local authorities facing elections, Labour currently controls or is the coalition leader in 83.
The party could suffer its worst night in local election history – winning just 42 authorities – with almost half of that total in London.
On London
The expected Green surge in the capital will split the Left vote, but Zack Polanski’s party is set to gain control of just two of London’s 32 boroughs.
However, it will come second in many of the other 19 London councils Labour is on course to hold.
On Reform UK gains
At the highest end of predicted results, Nigel Farage’s party would gain control of up to 69 councils – half of the number voting this year – by gaining support from Labour voters in the Red Wall and Conservatives in the East of England.
Even on a more modest prediction, it would net 56 councils, compared with 42 for Labour, 17 for the Liberal Democrats and 15 for the Conservatives.
On Tory losses
Kemi Badenoch’s Blue Wall of shire councils across the south of England is also set to crumble.
Reform is on course to seize Essex, the county council including Mrs Badenoch’s own constituency, along with Suffolk and Norfolk.
The Tories are also on course to lose East Sussex, West Sussex and Hampshire, finishing second or third behind either the Lib Dems or Reform. The Tories’ vote share could fall as low as 15 per cent in East Sussex …
With new boundaries in the Tory stronghold of Surrey, the Conservatives are also set to lose both East and West Surrey, slumping from an overall vote share of 42 per cent in the county five years ago to 24 per cent.
UPDATE: The JL Partners polling is now available here.
War against Iran helping Putin, Starmer says
Iran war truth-telling in government seems to be spreading. After Rachel Reeves described Donald Trump’s war as “folly”, Keir Starmer made a point of saying that it was helping Vladimir Putin.
The comment came in the readout issued by Downing Street of Starmer’s meeting yesterday with his Dutch counterpart, Rob Jetten. Normally these readouts are bland to the point of meaningless, but on this occasion someone decided to include a line about who is gaining most from Trump’s folly.
A No 10 spokesperson said:
Turning to recent events in the Middle East, the prime ministers updated on their recent diplomatic meetings, including Prime Minister Starmer’s visit to the Gulf, and Prime Minister Jetten’s meetings in Washington.
The summit on the strait of Hormuz on Friday would be a vital moment to continue to drive diplomatic, military and economic work, the leaders underlined.
Both also reiterated their deep concern at the situation in Lebanon and the need for deescalation. On Ukraine, the prime minister thanked Prime Minister Jetten for The Netherlands’ unwavering support and reflected on Ukraine’s momentum on the battlefield.
Putin was benefiting from the events in the Gulf, and it was vital partners looked at how they could step up pressure on Russia to mitigate that, the prime minister added.
This article by Simon Goodley last week explains why Russia is doing so well from the war.
Reeves to meet US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, after he claimed ‘small bit of economic pain’ caused by Iran war worth it
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is in Washington where later she will be meeting the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. Yesterday he defended the war against Iran, saying “small bit of economic pain” was worth the long-term security benefits. He told the BBC:
I wonder what the hit to global GDP would be if a nuclear weapon hit London… I am saying that I am less concerned about short-term forecasts, for long-term security.
Reeves, who is in charge of an economy that will suffer more than any other in the G7 as a resut of the war, according to the IMF, is unlikey to agree. Yesterday she called the war “folly”.
It shoud be a lively meeting.
Graeme Wearden has more on this on his business live blog.
Labour claims Reform UK won’t protect women, as poll suggests Farage’s party heading for ‘seismic’ wins in May
Good morning. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is publishing a revised women’s health strategy for England today. As Andrew Gregory reports, the strategy implicitly accepts that women have been let down by a (largely male) medical establishment which has not always taken their health concerns seriously.
But, for Labour, this is not just a health announcement. The English local elections are just over three weeks away, and Labour is using this announcement as a platform to attack Reform UK, saying that Nigel Farage’s party can’t be trusted to stand up for women.
Labour HQ has sent out a briefing note backing up this claim with this list of 10 reasons why is says Reform are not on the side of women. For the record, here is the list in full.
1. Reform want to reopen the debate on abortion limits
Nigel Farage has described the current 24-week abortion limit as “utterly ludicrous” and called for Parliament to revisit it – raising concerns about rolling back long-established reproductive rights.
2. Reform figures have questioned women’s bodily autonomy
Senior Reform figure, Danny Kruger MP, has argued that women do not have an “absolute right” over their own bodies in the context of abortion, undermining a fundamental principle of women’s healthcare and rights.
3. Reform would scrap the Equality Act
Suella Braverman MP, Reform’s equalities spokeswoman, has pledged to repeal the Equality Act – removing key legal protections against sex discrimination in workplaces, services and public life.
4. Reform have links to anti-abortion campaigns
Farage has accepted payment to speak at events linked to anti-abortion groups, while candidates with similar views are standing for the party – raising concerns about the direction of travel.
5. Reform would roll back workplace protections
Plans to scrap the Employment Rights Act would put at risk protections for maternity leave, workplace discrimination and job security – undermining progress made for women at work.
6. Reform would bring back the two-child benefit limit
This policy disproportionately impacts women, particularly single mothers, pushing families into poverty and limiting financial support for children.
7. Reform figures have made regressive comments about women at work
Farage has previously backed claims that employers avoid hiring women because of maternity rights – echoing outdated attitudes that penalise women for having families.
8. Reform figures have criticised breastfeeding in public
Farage has suggested women should not breastfeed in a way that is “openly ostentatious” – policing women’s behaviour in public spaces.
9. Reform has platformed and defended controversial figures
Farage has described Andrew Tate as an “important voice for men”, despite widespread concern about misogyny and the impact of such views on young people.
10. Reform’s record on violence against women raises serious concerns
The party is considering bringing back former MP James McMurdock, who was jailed for assaulting his then-girlfriend.
Commenting on this, Anna Turley, the Labour chair, said:
Today Labour is taking action to fix a system that has too often ignored women – cutting waiting lists, improving care and putting women’s voices at the centre.
But Reform’s record speaks for itself. From attacking reproductive rights to undermining protections at work, they simply can’t be trusted to stand up for women.
Reform UK has been approached for a comment. I’ll post it when I get a reply.
Farage is probably more interested in the Telegraph splash. It reports the findings of a poll by JL Partners which, as well as saying Labour is on course to lose power in Wales (no surprise), also says “Labour is also facing a Reform rout across England, with the near-total collapse of the Red Wall and the loss of stronghold councils held since the 1970s.”
James Johnson, the co-founder of JL Partners, told the Telegraph:
If these results come to pass, we will be looking at a major political earthquake across Britain.
It could be the worst local election ever for Labour in England, a collapse for the Conservatives in their historic Blue Wall heartlands, and a brutal third place for Starmer’s party in Wales.
One cannot overstate how seismic that result in Wales would be – it is a place that has stayed Labour even in the party’s darkest days. Plaid Cymru, the SNP, and the Greens are all contributing to this, but it is Reform that looks set to be the real story, potentially moving into opposition in Wales and securing England councils across the country.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory leader, holds a campaign event on postal voting. Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, is doing a separate event at 10am on maternity services, and John Swinney, the first minister and SNP leader, is campaigning in South Ayrshire at 2pm.
10am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour speaking about the government’s women’s health strategy, ahead of speaking at a formal launch at 11am.
11am: Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, speaks at a Green event about ending the “normalisation” of food bank use.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
3.15pm (UK time): Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, speaks at a CBNC event in Washington, where she is attending IMF spring summit meetings. She also has a meeting at some point with her US counterpart, Scott Bessent.
3.45pm (UK time): John Healey, the defence secretary, is expected to speak at a press conference in Berlin after a meeting of fellow defence ministers from the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
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World Cup 2026: England kick off in Dallas after big-hitting trio make mark – live | World Cup 2026
Key events
Max Rushden and friends are coming in your ears with all the latest from the tournament.
Thomas Partey will not be part of the Ghana team that faces Panama, after he was denied access to Canada.
What Ghana do have is the likes of Antoine Semenyo after putting greater emphasis of attracting players from the diaspora.
Some lad called Messi is top of the Golden Boot list already. Who will hunt him down? Check out the top scorers, thus far.
Portugal open up against DR Congo as the Hors d’oeuvre for England v Croatia, not that anyone in those two countries will see it like that.
It is the sixth time Cristiano Ronaldo has been at a World Cup, which is a rather silly statistics. At 41, does he still have the powers to make a difference?
Ronaldo could wield a huge influence over the trophy’s ultimate destination. It remains to be seen whether that is channelled positively. Portugal can field arguably the best first-choice midfield in this summer’s competition, an experienced defence and an admirable array of wide forwards. At the heart of their attack stands, depending on your perspective, either a free-scoring icon primed to fire them all the way or a 41-year-old passenger whose presence sucks an otherwise fluent team into an inescapable void.
Nick Ames takes a look at the legend.
That is more than enough England material for the timing being, but do not fear, there will plenty throughout the day.
Opponents Croatia have impressed in recent times at the World Cup, reaching a final and semi-final in their past two outings. A key reason for their successes come in the form of 40-year-old Luka Modric, who is still going in the middle of the park and will be plotting England’s downfall.
Aleksandar Holiga on the the great man’s last dance.
There is plenty to get your teeth and eyes into as we prepare for England’s entrance in Dallas.
David Hytner has been listening to Harry Kane’s thoughts on the Three Lions’ chances and his own form.
I’m coming into this tournament in the best way possible; the best place physically and mentally. Throughout a career, there aren’t loads of times when all the pieces of the puzzle will come together at the right moment. Talking now, I feel like I’m in that place.
Thomas Tuchel is about to learn what managing at a major tournament is all about, writes Jacob Steinberg.
After an impressive qualifying campaign, Tuchel is backing England to thrive under the microscope in the US.
Barney Ronay on England shifting the focus from fun to business.
You can sit there playing with your silly little machines as much as you like. I’ll show you a World Cup. Close to a week in, with almost an entire round of cloudless group games in the bag, the coffin lid is starting to creak. By late Monday morning the first little knots of Three Lions shirts could be seen wandering the blank, baking streets of Dallas, blinking in the light. England are at the door. And it’s time for a vibe shift.
We should start with the latest set of results on what was a fascinating day.
Paul MacInnes was in New York/Jersey to see Mbappe lay down the first marker of the day. The Frenchman’s goals mean we will not have to spend our time discussing VAR too much but we certainly will.
The Ewan Murray witnessed Erling Haaland doing what he does best as Norway returned to the biggest stage by pummelling Iraq into submission.
Pablo Iglesias Maurer was on hand to see Lionel Messi’s 200th Argentina appearance, which he celebrated with a hat-trick against Algeria. He will be 39 next week but no one seems to have told him.
Austria required an own goal and late penalty against newcomers Jordan to get their competition up and running.
Preamble
After the tedium of four draws the day before, Tuesday felt like a moment within the context of this World Cup. Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi all made their marks with goals in big win for their respective countries. Tournaments need their stars to step up, often it is individuals rather than teams that are remembered for their successes in the history books and three of the globe’s best are threatening to do that again.
The hotly-anticipated England opener comes our way later, as Thomas Tuchel et al aim to end *checks notes* 70 years of hurt. Croatia provide the opponents, having previously caused plenty of harm to wallies with brollies and inflicting a semi-final defeat in Russia eight years ago. Will Harry Kane join his fellow figure heads by proving his class on the biggest stage? One nation certainly hope so.
We will be bringing you all the latest from the World Cup with plenty to look back on but even more to look forward to.
What experts make of the men’s team’s official off-duty fashion as they prepare for their first World Cup match.
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Key events
Lance must be watching a different game to me with the query “who is the audience?”. “I’m watching from my apartment in San Francisco and can’t figure out why they started a game at midnight for most of the USA, Canada, and Mexico and 4am in Europe. Who’s watching this besides you in Australia? OTOH, the level of play deserves late night so maybe FIFA are geniuses.”
NO GOAL! Austria 1-1 Jordan
The referee determines that Stefan Posch handled the ball while trying to control it just a split second before Marko Arnautović tapped it into the back of the net. A huge call but looks like the right one to me. Now for an ill-timed hydration break
The referee has gone to the sideline to review the replay. All the focus is on the handball claim rather than any supposed contact with the keeper.
Hang on a second, VAR is looking at the replay. There wasn’t much contact on the keeper but the ball has perhaps brushed Stefan Posch’s arm before bouncing down to Arnautović’s feet.
GOAL! Austria 2-1 Jordan (Arnautović 68)
Marko Arnautović reclaims the lead for Austria as the calmest presence in the six-yard box amid a mad scramble off a corner.
65 min Yazeed Abulaila is back to his feet after some extra attention. It is hard to spot much contact from Arnautović on the replay.
63 min Carney Chukwuemeka is immediately involved in all the most exciting moments as he goes to ground in the penalty area but has any claims waved away. Shortly after Jordan keeper Yazeed Abulaila is the one to end up on the turf holding his face after next to know pressure from Marko Arnautović. The referee allows play to continue and Chukwuemeka fires a shot on target that is blocked by a sea of Jordan feet.
61 min Austria take time to settle back into their rhythm after the sweeping changes while Chukwuemeka already looks lively.
59 min A triple change for Austria with defender Kevin Danso joined by a pair of exciting new additions in Carney Chukwuemeka and Paul Wanner. Captain David Alaba, and midfielders Xaver Schlager and Phillipp Mwene are done for the day.
57 min Arnautović goes to ground in the defensive half to masterfully earn a free kick and relieve the pressure.
55 min No change to the familiar pattern as Odeh Al-Fakhouri twice finds space down the right side. Musa Al-Taamari and Ali Olwan time their run perfectly off the second chance but the cross is a touch deep and is collected by keeper Schlager.
53 min Austria slow the game down with Xaver Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald knocking the ball around the midfield and defensive line.
Ali Olwan creates something out of very little with a solo run to equalise for Jordan though the goal had been coming. Austria, on the other hand, have paid a huge price for leaving too much space in their defensive half even while holding a narrow lead. Game on!
GOAL! Austria 1-1 Jordan (Olwan 50)
Ali Olwan is giving too much room as he carries the ball from near the halfway line and into the penalty area, cuts on to his right boot and rockets the ball off the inside of the far post and into the net. The striker goes down in history as Jordan’s first World Cup goalscorer.
48 min Stefan Posch takes too much time to consider his options for a throw-in and the referee blows the whistle to hand the ball back to Jordan in their attacking half. That’s surely one of the better rules that Fifa has brought in for this World Cup.
47 min Ehsan Haddad shows Jordan are setting out to chase the game as the captain charges into space down the right and hammers a flat cross into the penalty area. The scramble sends the ball out to Odeh Al-Fakhouri to take it deep and to the goalline under little pressure. But the cutback ends up in keeper Schlager’s hands.
46 min Jordan resume the second half with the same XI players that began the first.
Austria are last to make their way out of the tunnel but veteran Marko Arnautović is already alone on the sidelines ready to enter the fray. Saša Kalajdžić makes way after a half where the final ball from his Austria teammates generally didn’t do him any few favours.
If the final word on the latest Kylian Mbappé masterclass isn’t enough to entertain you, Peter has stepped forward with a simple request: “After the next hydration break I’d like to see Austria take a couple of stiff schnaps shots at the Jordan goal.”
Jordan are far from out of this Group J clash against Austria and had their fair share of chances both before and after Schmid’s opening goal. We’ll be back shortly for the second half, but in the meantime here is some half-time reading from Leander Schaerlaeckens on the other side of the US at New York New Jersey Stadium.
After the whistle blew for half-time, Kylian Mbappé ran to the player tunnel at a good clip, followed by Ousmane Dembélé. Behind them, the rest of the French team were in no such hurry, sauntering off the pitch. The forward widely considered the best in the world – or at least the most famous in the Non-Ronaldo-and-Messi Division – and the reigning Ballon d’Or winner had much to discuss.
Austria hold the advantage at the break in a game that has largely followed the script, as they seek to control the ball in midfield and find a pass into towering forward Saša Kalajdžić’s feet, while Jordan are comfortable sitting back and waiting to unleash Musa Al-Taamari on the counter.
Romano Schmid curled shot from range in the 20th minute is a goal deserving of the lead though Jordan almost responded immediately with a shot that crashed off the crossbar. Austria lead Jordan for possession 58-42% though the shots on target favour the World Cup debutants 3-1 while both have had five chances sail wide.
Half time: Austria 1-0 Jordan
Romano Schmid’s rocket from outside the penalty area is all that separates the two sides in what has been an enthralling encounter filled with end-to-end football.
45+3 min Schmid has time to try to pick out a pass into the Austria attack where Kalajdžić is hovering ominously. A quick Jordan clearance sends Musa Al-Taamari on his way but the long hit ends up with keeper Schlager.
45+1 min Jordan continue to attack down their left where Mohannad Abu Taha offers width. Musa Al-Taamari soon sets off on a solo run from the right side and beats the first Austria defender to get a shot away with his left boot that drifts into the side netting. Four minutes of added time.
44 min Stefan Posch crunches Odeh Al-Fakhouri in the back as they compete for a high ball to hand Jordan another free kick in their attacking half. The overly elaborate set up wastes the chance.
42 min Jordan earn their own free kick in their attacking half where a flatter cross earns a corner – one of their key weapons.
41 min Austria win a free kick out of nothing in the midfield and take time to set up their attack. Alaba delivers a loop free kick for Kalajdžić to nod backwards where the Jordan defence are able to clear.
39 min Both keepers take their time with a goal kick with half-time coming in to view.
37 min Austria take some momentum out of the game with Jordan pressing hard in attack. The midfield battle has leaned to one side with the contrasting approaches to leave Austria enjoying about two-thirds of the possession.
35 min Jordan flood forward and a pacey build up gives Ali Olwan time to unleash a powerful shot that might have troubled the keeper if it wasn’t so straight. Musa Al-Taamari gathers the rebound but his own chance is blocked by Philipp Lienhart before Austria finally clear. Jordan continue to look most dangerous on the counter.
33 min Austria send the ball long for Konrad Laimer to run on to and into the penalty area. The midfielder tumbles to ground with arms waving in the air after there was an obvious tug on the shirt. But he equally had a fist full of the Jordan defender’s jersey. Stefan Posch is next to find space in attack but a heavy final touch allows the keeper to shut down the danger.
32 min Fast feet from Ali Olwan opens up the Austria defence but the cross into the penalty area is comfortably cleared by their centre-backs.
31 min Mwene quickly has an opportunity to make amends as he searches for Saša Kalajdžić but the cross is a touch behind the forward and he is unable to get enough on his header.
29 min Austria look more and more threatening as Jordan allow them time to build attacks. The right final ball all that’s missing to link midfield with the attack as Phillipp Mwene misdirects a cross.
27 min Austria win the ball back for their own throw in the attacking third and pile the pressure back on Jordan in the six-yard box. A desperate clearance gives the ball back for Austria to rebuild as Xaver Schlager charges through the middle of the pitch unopposed.
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