Late drama as Saudi Arabia and Australia draw in World Cup qualifier

Despite numerous opportunities in front of a packed crowd at AAMI Park in Melbourne, both teams were unable to find the breakthrough they were desperately seeking.

The Saudis and their new French coach Herve Renard thought they had won in the 93rd minute when Sultan Al-Ghannam rifled home from just inside the box.

But the flag went up, with one of his teammates offside.

“We have to give confidence to the referee,” Renard said, preferring not to talk about the incident.

“I have to see it once again to be sure that they made the best decision. So I will not comment about this.”

The stalemate played into the hands of Group C leaders Japan as Asian qualifying reached the halfway mark.

Both teams now have six points, four behind table-toppers Japan who can stretch their lead further when they meet Indonesia in Jakarta on Nov 15.

Just the top two seal their place at the 2026 World Cup in North America, with the third and fourth forced into another round of Asian qualifying.

Australia must now lift for a difficult trip to Bahrain next week, while Saudi Arabia travel to Indonesia.

Australia coach Tony Popovic made just one change from the team that drew with Japan in Saitama in October with Standard Liege midfielder Aiden O’Neill in for Luke Brattan.

In contrast, Renard, who was a appointed a fortnight ago in place of Roberto Mancini, swung the axe with just four survivors from their last match – a goalless draw with Bahrain.

Both sides started at a frenetic pace with the Saudis pressing forward but unable to find a breakthrough.