Instead they stayed in second on six points, five behind Oman who have played a game more and have already booked a place at the 16-team finals. Syria are third with four points from five matches with Singapore also fighting for the second qualifying place with three points from four games.
"We still have a chance to qualify. We didn't lose so the point we earned means qualification is still in our hands," Hassan was quoted as saying in the Asian Football Confederation website (www.the-afc.com).
"I have confidence in my players, and despite us not having the players who are playing in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia who were not released, I am confident we will qualify."
Twelve teams have already qualified for the tournament including hosts Australia, defending champions Japan and North and South Korea. Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Uzbekistan have also booked places through the qualifiers.
A further four spots are up for grabs, one in the AFC Challenge Cup and a further three via the qualifiers. The draw for the finals will be made in Sydney on Mar 26.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty; editing by Patrick Johnston)
