BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Tuesday's 2-1 loss to 10-man Saudi Arabia in a crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier has left several Chinese players rueful.

In a match termed by China coach Branko Ivankovic as "the real test", China was 1-0 up in the 14th minute, five minutes before Saudi midfielder Mohamed Kanno was sent off with a straight red card for a violent foul on Chinese midfielder Jiang Shenglong.

However, two headers from defender Hassan Kadish helped the visitors turn the game around, and the winner emerged in the last minute of the game.

According to Chinese midfielder Wang Shangyuan, the context of the tie and the way it played out made the loss devastating.

"All of us are very upset as we had the chance to get at least one point," he said.

"After the loss to Japan, we earnestly need a win to give us a shot in the arm. Only those insiders know how much we have been through during the days after we came back from Japan," he said.

"We were aware that all our opponents are strong, but this time we played at home, so our goal was to win. And we did get off to a promising start," said the midfielder.

Wang, who came on after the break, saw his header ruled out after a VAR check in the 54th minute.

"What a shame it was. Looking back, the whole process is a big regret," he noted.

Wang's teammate Behram Abduweli echoed his sentiment. "We scored early on, and the opposition was reduced to 10 players, we should have won the match," Behram said.

"Now all of us are left in a bad mood, unable to accept a result like this," he added.

China currently sits bottom of Group C after suffering two defeats in a row. Enditem

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