JEDDAH :Iraq coach Graham Arnold questioned the fairness of the format used in the latest phase of Asia's preliminaries for the World Cup after seeing his side beaten to a place in next summer's finals by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The former Australia coach joined Oman boss Carlos Queiroz in criticising the just-concluded round of qualifiers, which also saw Qatar claim a berth at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"I'm extremely proud of the boys, especially after the way the format of the competition has been," Arnold said after his side's 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia in Jeddah left Iraq second in Group B behind Herve Renard's team.

"It's no coincidence that the team in each group that had the six days break qualified.

Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single h

See Full Page