KUALA LUMPUR: The national Under-16 squad's dream of reaching their second Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-16 Championship final was dashed when they lost 1-0 to hosts Indonesia in the semi-finals on Thursday.
The first time Malaysia marched into the final of the competition was back in 2013, when the team went on to claim the title.
The defeat suffered by Raja Azlan Shah Raja Sho'ib's boys also saw the team failing to emulate Bojan Hodak's Under-19 squad that clinched the AFF Under-19 Championship last month.
In the final at the Delta Sidoarjo Stadium in Surabaya, both teams were equally balanced in most of the first half.
However, Indonesia got lucky when they were awarded a penalty in the 70th minute when goalkeeper Abdul Alim Al Amri Ali tripped Mohammad Supriadi in the box.
Amirudin Bagus Kahfi Alfikri made no mistake from the spot, slotting in the goal to send the home team into Saturday's final, where they will face Thailand.
Malaysia will play Myanmar in the third-fourth placing playoff.
For the record, Raja Azlan's squad won three matches on the trot - 6-1 against Brunei, 4-0 against Singapore and 1-0 against Laos, after losing 1-0 to Thailand in their opening Group B tie.