Herve Renard marked his return to the Saudi Arabia dugout with a gritty 0-0 draw against hosts Australia as the Green Falcons fumed at a late disallowed goal that cost them maximum points in a crunch World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
Both sides had chances in front of 27,000 fans at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium but Renard’s players were furious after Sultan Al-Ghannam’s late strike was ruled offside although it was confirmed by VAR after a long break in play.
“We have to give confidence to the referee ... “Renard told reporters. “I have to see it once again to be sure that they made the best decision. So I will not comment about this.”
At the halfway mark of the third phase of Asian qualifying, the result left Australia second in Group C on six points, four behind Japan, which plays Indonesia in Jakarta on Friday.
Saudi Arabia remains third, also on six points, but Bahrain, which has five, could leapfrog it and the Australians with a home win against China later on Thursday.
The top two teams at the end of the phase qualify directly for the 2026 finals in North America, with the third and fourth-placed teams advancing to another round of qualifiers.
Having replaced Roberto Mancini after the Saudis managed one point from their two home matches in the previous qualifying window, Renard started his second stint in charge on a positive note in Melbourne despite the late controversy.
The Frenchman was also in charge during qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the Saudis held Australia 0-0 in Sydney three years ago and then beat it 1-0 at home, sending the Socceroos down the perilous playoffs route to qualify.
Thursday’s game of high stakes was a scrappy frenetic affair laden with missed chances.
Nasser Al-Dawsari was first on target for the Saudis with a strike at the near post that forced Joe Gauci to save.
The half finished with a flurry of shots but Australia failed to capitalise on defensive errors.
Ajdin Hrustic was denied by a diving Ahmed Al-Kassar after pushing a low shot towards the left corner before Jackson Irvine blazed over from long-range six minutes into injury time.
In between, Gauci foiled a golden chance for Firas Al-Buraikan with a heroic dive at the forward’s feet as he bore down on goal after breaching Australia’s offside trap.
In the 74th minute, Australia coach Tony Popovic brought on Brandon Borrello who had just the keeper to beat late on but blew the chance with a poor cross to Riley McGree.
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