MELBOURNE: Saudi Arabia had a goal disallowed in added time in a scoreless draw with Australia, a result that did neither side any favors in their bid to qualify for World Cup 2026.
Despite several chances in front of a sold out AAMI Park in Melbourne, the breakthrough both teams desperately needed never came.
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 had some good opportunities but we have to go give our opponent credit. First half we didn’t play very well,” said Socceroos coach Tony Popovic.
“We were not very good with the ball while they were sharp and energetic.
“We improved significantly in the second half, which is good,” he added.
“Overall, it’s a point and we move forward but certainly we can improve.”
The stalemate played into the hands of Group C leaders Japan and opened the door for Bahrain to leapfrog them as Asian qualifying reached the halfway mark.
Australia and the Saudis both have six points, four behind table-toppers Japan who can stretch their lead further when they meet Indonesia in Jakarta on Friday.
Bahrain, on five points, host China later in Riffa and will move into second spot if they win.
Just the top two seal their place at the 2026 World Cup in North America, with third and fourth forced into another round of Asian qualifying.
Australia must now lift themselves for a difficult trip to Bahrain next week, while Saudi Arabia travel to Indonesia.
Popovic made just one change from the team that drew with Japan in Saitama last month with Standard Liege midfielder Aiden O’Neill in for Luke Brattan.
Renard, who was 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 and in a big moment on 12 minutes the referee awarded Australia a penalty after Mitch Duke clashed heads with goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar who came out to clear the ball.
But VAR showed the infringement was outside the box.
The first decent effort did not come until the 27th minute when Saudi midfielder Nasser Al-Dawsari whipped in a shot from a tight angle. Goalkeeper Joe Gauci saved at the near post.
Gauci made another crucial stop on the cusp of half-time, charging off his line to pluck the ball off the feet of Feras Albrikan in a one-on-one situation.
Australia had the brighter second half, creating far more chances with Riley McGree and Duke whipping in shots that were blocked.
They had a glorious opportunity with seven minutes left when substitute Brandon Borrello beat the offside trap.
But instead of shooting he opted to pass and the chance was wasted, before the last-minute drama with the disallowed goal.
Saudi goal disallowed in scoreless draw with Australia
https://arab.news/26dtz
Saudi goal disallowed in scoreless draw with Australia
- Green Falcons thought they had won in the 93rd minute when Sultan Al-Ghannam rifled home from just inside the box
- Mitch Duke clashed heads with goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar who came out to clear the ball, but VAR showed the infringement was outside the box
UAE, Egypt share points as Jordan, Algeria and Iraq book Arab Cup quarter-final spots
- Arab Cup reaching the finale of the group stages as knockouts loom
DOHA: The UAE and Egypt played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday to keep both sides’ progression hopes alive at the Arab Cup, while Jordan, Algeria and Iraq all secured their places in the quarter-finals.
Cosmin Olaroiu’s UAE side had the best chance of the opening half, with Mohamed Bassam producing a fine outstretched-leg save to deny Bruno from close range. They eventually broke the deadlock on the hour mark through a flowing counter-attack from one end of the pitch to the other, Nicolas Jimenez squaring for Caio Lucas to sweep the ball past Bassam.
Egypt rescued a share of the spoils late on when Karim Eraky delivered an 85th-minute cross that Marwan Hamdy headed back across goal.
The Pharaohs thought they had snatched a winner moments later, but the effort was ruled out for offside in the build-up, leaving Egypt second in the group, a point clear of both the UAE and Kuwait.
Jordan became the latest team to book their place in the quarter-finals with a dramatic 3-1 victory over Kuwait in Group C at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The World Cup 2026 qualifiers caught Kuwait off guard for the opening goal, taking a quick free-kick some 30 yards out for Mohannad Abu Taha to unleash a fierce strike beyond Sulaiman Abdulghafour.
Abdulghafour was tested repeatedly and beaten again early in the second half as Saed Al-Rosan converted from close range following another dangerous corner delivery from Mahmoud Mardi.
Kuwait set up a tense finale when substitute Yousef Nasser headed home from Eid Al-Rashidi’s cross, but Ali Olwan sealed the result deep into added time by converting a penalty after being brought down by the goalkeeper.
Defending champions Algeria underlined their title credentials with a commanding 5-1 win over Bahrain, with Qatar-based players playing a decisive role in all five goals.
Al-Wakrah’s Redouane Berkane opened the scoring before setting up Al-Duhail’s Adil Boulbina for the second, shortly after Bahrain had levelled during a frantic six-minute spell.
Berkane then won a penalty, converted by Yassine Benzia in first-half stoppage time, before scoring his second shortly after the restart.
Substitute Yacine Brahimi later teed up Boulbina for his second as Algeria completed a comfortable victory, maintaining an unbeaten start ahead of their group finale against Iraq on Tuesday.
Iraq also progressed to the last eight after withstanding heavy early pressure from Sudan before striking twice late on at Stadium 974.
After spending much of the first half on the back foot, Graham Arnold’s side took the lead when Player of the Match Mohanad Ali capitalised on a poor defensive header from a free-kick. Amjed Attwan then secured the win six minutes from time, sending the passionate Iraq support into raptures.
