It was a glorious day for the national youth team in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia yesterday.
Brad Maloney's side silenced their critics by topping Group J of the AFC Under-23 qualifiers following a 0-0 draw with favourites Thailand at the MFF Football Centre.
The Young Tigers finished above Thailand, Mongolia and Laos with seven points to qualify for the Under-23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan next year.
They completed their campaign without conceding a goal and scoring twice.
The cold weather in Ulaanbaatar and the poor pitch condition did not deter the Malaysians as they worked around the issues patiently to make an impression.
For Maloney, it will be his second outing in the tournament proper as he was assisting Ong Kim Swee when they reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 edition in China.
"Yes, I was Kim Swee's assistant in 2018, and this moment is just as special now. We talk on the phone regularly, and he called me after the game to congratulate the team," said Maloney yesterday.
"It is a fantastic achievement to qualify from this group. After two straight wins, we made sure of our qualification by getting the desired result today.
"It is a huge reward, especially for the players, who sacrificed so much to represent the country.
"The boys were outstanding and qualified in style by not conceding a goal and losing a game."
Maloney had only two weeks to prepare the team and they were the last to arrive in Ulaanbaatar.
However, the team played to instructions and employed the 3-4-3 formation in all matches for favourable results.
FAM-NSC's Azhad Harraz Arman played as a striker, supported by wingers Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Azfar Fikri Azhar, in yesterday's game.
"Azhad was given the nod to lead our attack as he was impressive in training. He was scoring so many goals in training, so I had to give him a chance today.
"Thailand were tough, but we were disciplined in all aspects," he added.
Malaysia are the sixth team to qualify for the Under-23 Asian Cup after Uzbekistan, Japan, Australia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
In the 2018 edition, Malaysia, who finished second in their group, were edged 2-1 by South Korea in the quarter-finals.