A Saudi player shoots the ball as an opponent defends.

RIYADH, Sept 9, (AP): While the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar thrill supporters of Saudi clubs, Roberto Mancini is concerned that his national team players aren’t getting enough time in the league to prepare for World Cup qualifying. Saudi Arabia was among the high-profile Asian teams that struggled in third-round openers last week in continental World Cup qualifying.

The Saudis were held 1-1 by Indonesia, the lowest-ranked of the six teams in Group C. Tuesday is a crucial match against China at Dalian for coach Mancini’s team. "We have had problems capitalizing on opportunities, which have been evident in the last few games,” Mancini said. With most clubs in the Saudi Pro League using their full quota of 10 imports, Mancini, who left his job as head coach of Italy a year ago to join Saudi Arabia's national team, has complained that local players are not getting enough action.

"Saudi Arabia’s national team players must participate as core players with their clubs," Mancini said. "I have 20 players sitting on the bench in local matches.” He said there needed to be greater cooperation between the national team and clubs. Australia’s attempt to qualify for a sixth successive World Cup tournament was damaged by a shocking 1-0 loss to Bahrain at home.

The early pacesetters in Group C meet when Bahrain hosts Japan, which opened with a thumping 7-0 win over China. The 18 teams in the third round of qualification have been divided into three groups of six. The top two from each automatically qualify for the World Cup. The teams that place third and fourth will advance to a fourth round to compete for two more places.

In Group B, South Korea also started with a disappointing result, a 0-0 draw with the Palestinian team in Seoul. Led by English Premier League stars Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan as well as Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, South Korea travels to Muscat to face Oman, which lost 1-0 to Iraq. Son suggested the poor pitch condition in Seoul was a reason for the result.

The Palestinians will play Jordan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as the team is unable to host games at home. Jordan had a 1-1 draw with Kuwait in its opening game and now faces Iraq, the only team in the group to win. In Group A, the United Arab Emirates won 3-1 at Qatar and hosts this week Iran, also with three points already on the board after beating Kyrgyzstan 1-0. Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host has never qualified for the tournament, will take on North Korea.