Yasser Al Qahtani scored from the spot 13 minutes from time after referee Mark Shield awarded the Saudis a penalty when Malek Maaz went to ground following a clash with Oh Baek-seok.

The challenge looked innocuous but the Australian official awarded the penalty and Al Qahtani made no mistake, sending Lee Woon-jae the wrong way to cancel out Choi Sung-kuk's 66th-minute header.

"I couldn't see it," said Verbeek, who took over as Korea coach last year after working as assistant to Dick Advocaat at the World Cup.

"I was 70 metres away so I had no idea if it was a penalty or not. But it's not up to me to say anything about the referee. He makes the decision and it's done. If it was not a penalty there's nothing I can do about it."

The result leaves both teams trailing surprise Group D leaders Indonesia after the first round of games, but Verbeek was satisfied with his team's performance.

"We had a nervous start and for the first 15 minutes the Saudis were the better team," said the Dutchman. "But after that we got control of the game and in the second half we were the better team and scored a very good goal.

"We had more chances and I think with the penalty, the goal we gave away, was an unlucky moment in the organisation of the back line.

"Overall, though, I was pleased with the performance of my players against a very strong team like Saudi Arabia.

"Of course, I wanted to win like any coach or any player but I have to admit that a draw was the best result for both teams."

Saudi Arabia coach Helio Anjos was happy to take the point despite fielding a side that lacks experience.

"I'm very happy because the first game is always a tough game," he said. "We have a young team and we are starting a new generation of our team.

"The game was not easy against a team that plays in a complicated way, but I'm very happy with the performance of the players."