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.

Both teams now 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 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.

In contrast, 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 mins 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. But 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 McGee 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.