‘Our defence had a great performance’ says China captain Zheng Zhi after scoreless draw with Saudi Arabia

China were denied a possible penalty late but still came away with a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night as they inched just a bit closer to Asian Cup qualification, while Qatar, Oman, Iran, Uzbekistan and Kuwait all joined UAE as having sealed qualification.

China's Huang Bowen competes for a ball with Saudi Arabia's Mansour Al Harbi during their scoreless draw on Tuesday night. AP Photo

SINGAPORE // China refused to blame the referee after they were denied a late penalty against Saudi Arabia which could have sent them to the 2015 Asian Cup.

Captain Zheng Zhi sidestepped a question over the controversial decision after Zhang Linpeng went down heavily in the box in the dying seconds.

China finished the game at 0-0, denying them an 11th consecutive Asian Cup spot and forcing them into an anxious wait ahead of their final qualifier away against Iraq.

“The referee had made his decision on the pitch, I don’t want to say anything about that right now,” said Zheng, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Fans at Xian’s Shanxi Stadium reacted vociferously after the South Korean referee Kim Dong-Jin waved away Zhang’s strong appeal when he was brought down in a challenge.

But Zheng preferred to look at the positive aspects of a performance in which China dominated already qualified Saudi Arabia, despite failing to find the net.

“I think we can accept this result,” said the former Celtic and Charlton Athletic midfielder. “We did not have a clear chance to score but our defence had a great performance tonight.”

The result meant China failed to join a stampede of teams into the 2015 tournament in Australia with Iran, Qatar, Oman, Uzbekistan and Kuwait all sealing their progression.

Three-time Asian champions Iran beat Lebanon 4-1 in a game which was closed to fans after a deadly suicide attack at the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

Qatar, World Cup hosts in 2022, beat Malaysia 1-0 to progress and Uzbekistan, Asian Cup semi-finalists in 2011, went through after a 2-0 win against Hong Kong.

Oman and Kuwait also took their places while Jordan, who skipped this round of qualifiers to play a World Cup play-off with Uruguay, are strongly positioned in Group A.

Several teams are in the running for progression as the best third-placed side among the five groups when the final round of qualifying takes place in March.