Football is truly global; a man from Sao Paulo made his mark in Dubai for Malaysian football on Sunday.
Brazilian-born Guilherme de Paula scored his first goal in his first match for his adopted country. And Malaysia, for the first time, fielded a player from Samba-land.
De Paula, who became a naturalised Malaysian early this year, wasted no time in making his impact, and also staking a strong claim to a place in Malaysia's first 11.
The Johor Darul Ta'zim forward got his name on the scoresheet against Kuwait in a friendly match at The Sevens Stadium.
However, World No 153 Malaysia lost 4-1 to World No 148 Kuwait.
The match, a non-A international, was for coach Tan Cheng Hoe and his men to acclimatise themselves before next month's World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers in Dubai.
The 35-year-old de Paula struck in the 35th minute to cancel out Ahmad Aldhefeery's opening goal for Kuwait after 28 minutes.
However, Kuwait turned on the heat in the second half with goals from Fahad Alhajeri (55th), Shabaib Alkhaldi (60th) and Fahad Al-Alabraim (68th).
Although the goal and cap from the match were not recognised, it shows that de Paula fits the type of street-smart player that FAM have been looking for.
Cheng Hoe tested 23 of the 25 players in his squad against Kuwait.
Right-back Matthew Davies and winger Safawi Rasid were the only ones not used.
Malaysia will next take on Bahrain in Manama in an A-international friendly on Friday, which will be their last chance to iron out the team's weaknesses before their World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates on June 3 in Dubai.
Although pleased with de Paula's immediate impact as a Malaysian player, Cheng Hoe was unhappy with the overall performance of his team on Sunday.
"De Paula played well and scored a goal for us. Hopefully, it will help him in his confidence when we play in the qualifiers. Forward Akhyar Rashid also did well against Kuwait," said the 52-year-old.
The coach said the Malaysian players need to show more grit in their next friendly.
"This result (4-1 loss to Kuwait) will definitely give me sleepless nights," said Cheng Hoe.
"Anyway, it was tough for the players in their first international game after a long time.
"The transition from attack to defence was very, very slow. We were not at our best, and I know this kind of result could ruin a team's morale.
"The players are disappointed for sure. However, they should forget this result and focus on the Bahrain game."
On the performances of youngsters like Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Arif Aiman Hanapi, the coach said they need more time to get going.
He admitted that some of them are not ready yet to play in priority tournaments like the World Cup qualifiers.