Alaba (undisclosed) is in the starting lineup for Austria's World Cup opener versus Jordan.
Analysis:
Alaba recovered fully from a slight blow he suffered during a friendly prior to the international competition, and he could be expected to log meaningful time on the pitch Tuesday. The defender has helped his national team through ball recovery stats lately, but he's also valuable as a corner-kick taker, having provided one assist over four starts in the World Cup qualifying stage. His presence from kickoff leaves both Kevin Danso and Marco Friedl on the bench for now.
