It was an amusing match, Australia's 0-0 World Cup qualifying draw with Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening. Neither team played to their full potential, yet both left AAMI Park regretting the missed opportunity to secure three points. For the Socceroos, it was another story of crucial moments slipping away. For the Green Falcons, it was a matter of inches, literally, that denied them a dramatic 95th-minute winner.
With mere seconds left, having not created much in the second half, the ball fell perfectly for Sultan Al-Ghannam at the top of the box after a corner. The 27,491 fans held their breath as the Al-Nassr wingback seized the moment, driving a low shot past Joe Gacui and into the bottom corner of the net. It was a decisive strike, a late goal that had won the game. Chaos erupted on the Saudi bench and among their fans in the stands.
But gradually, the celebrations grew quieter. The realization set in first among the players on the field and those watching from the sidelines. Amidst the uproar, the assistant's flag had been raised. The ball had passed through Ali Al-Bulaihi's legs as it found the back of the net, and the defender, by the narrowest of margins, had been behind the last Socceroo when the shot was taken. By definition, this meant he was interfering with play from an offside position. The goal would not stand, denying a winning start to the second Hervé Renard era in charge.
For the Socceroos, perhaps there was a sense of cosmic justice, given the Saudi's robust defensive efforts bolstered by moments of luck and poor shooting. Four times across the opening 45 minutes and once more in the dying moments, the hosts were presented with golden opportunities to score, and four times they failed to capitalize. In the 18th minute, Lewis Miller's header from an Ajdin Hrustic free kick was blocked by Feras Al-Brikan into the path of Harry Souttar in the six-yard box, only for the towering defender to sky his effort over the bar. In the 45th, Aiden O'Neill's pressure caused Nasser Al-Dawsari to cough up the ball for Mitch Duke, who squared it to Hrustic in space, only for his weak shot to be easily handled by Saudi keeper Ahmed Al-Kassar. Five minutes later, with effectively the last action of the half, another pressing maneuver saw Jackson Irvine steal a pass from Faisel Al-Ghamdi, play a one-two with Duke, and advance towards goal before placing an off-balance shot wide. In the 84th minute, Miller slid the ball behind the Saudi lines for substitute Brandon Borrello to advance clear on goal but, at the final moment, the attacker opted to square the ball for McGree for an ostensible tap-in rather than shoot himself, giving the visitor's defense the chance to clear the ball.
For a side that has struggled to create chances consistently, it was a quartet of moments that needed to be seized, especially when a defense spearheaded by Hassan Al-Tombakti was consistently repulsing the hosts. And that's to say nothing of what three points would have meant for either side; probably putting them in the box seat to automatically qualify for 2026 from Group C alongside Japan. Instead, both sides will exit with a point, largely in the same place they found themselves coming in and likely to be leapfrogged in the group by Bahrain, who host bottom-placed China later on Thursday; McGree's last-minute bicycle kick that bounced just wide another tease of what might have been.
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