The draw comes after the former champions defeated Malaysia in their opening game and moves the Iraqis on to four points from their first two games, two points more than Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The Jordanians were held to a 1-1 draw by Malaysia earlier in the day and Saturday’s results ensure any two of the four teams in the group can still qualify for the knockout phase.

At Changshu Sports centre, both sides effectively cancelled each other during an opening half hour that saw the teams engaged in a tense midfield battle that yielded little action in front of goal.

Only Alaa Mhawi managed to prize open the Saudi defence during that period, the winger finding his way to the bye-line before cutting back a cross that, after a brief melee, ended up in the hands of goalkeeper Amin Al Bukhari.

Ward Al Barri gave the Jordanians a 16th minute lead but Safawi struck from the spot as Ong Kim Swee’s side bounced back from their 4-1 loss at the hands of Iraq in the opening round of fixtures.

The draw was Jordan’s second of the competition having kicked off their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia and the result means both nations go into the final round of group games with the chance of advancing to the last eight.

Iain Brunskill’s side were the first to settle, but they were left to rue claiming only a single goal for 40 minutes of dominance in the first half.

Haziq Nadzli did well to deny Ahmed Al Reyahi with just 11 minutes on the clock, diving to his left to keep the ball out as the Qadsia striker took aim from inside the area.

Five minutes later, though, Jordan took the lead, Mohammad Al Rezam spotting Al Barri’s well-timed run down the left side of the Malaysian defence and Al Rezam’s perfectly placed diagonal pass allowed Al Barri to skip past Haziq before rolling the ball over the line.

Rashid has scored both of his country’s goals at the tournament so far and will be looking to spring a surprise over the west Asian nation as Malaysia eye a possible place in the knockout phase in the competition.

Ong Kim Swee’s side are bottom of the standings in Group D with a solitary point picked up in their 1-1 draw with Jordan on Saturday but, with Saudi Arabia and the Jordanians just a point ahead, Malaysia are still in contention of a place in the quarter-finals.

"I thank God that I managed to score two goals in the first two matches, and I want to thank my teammates who helped us to get this important point,” Rashid said after his goal-scoring performance against the Jordanians.

"I am satisfied with our performance today, but we need to improve our weaknesses in training before the third match. I hope with commitment and determination we can get the win in the last match against Saudi Arabia to qualify for the quarter finals.”

Iain Brunskill’s team slipped to a 1-1 draw with Malaysia on Saturday, three days after losing a two-goal lead against Saudi Arabia to share the points with their fellow west Asians in their tournament-opening game.

Those results leave the Jordanians on two points from their two games and mean they must win against group leaders Iraq on Tuesday to advance to the quarter-finals.

It was Al Rezam’s vision and passing that unlocked the Malaysian defence for Ward Al Barri’s goal on Saturday,, the midfielder playing an exquisite diagonal ball to Al Barri as the full-back raced behind the backline to score.

But Safawi Rashid’s equaliser from the penalty spot two minutes before the break earned Malaysia a point to leave Al Rezam and his teammates frustrated once again.