DOHA: Malaysia's football illusion that they are back to Asian standards was brutally shattered by Jordan on Monday.
Kim Pan Gon's team suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss in their Asian Cup Group E opener at the Al Janoub Stadium.
The one-sided game against Jordan - deemed the least strongest of Malaysia's three Group E opponents - underlined the wide gulf in standards between Malaysia and the Middle East teams.
Though the Asian Cup will only end on Feb 10, the Malaysian team can start preparing to pack up and leave for home after their last group match, against South Korea on Jan 25.
The pre-match hype that this Malaysian team are capable of holding their own against teams ranked below the world's top 100, turned out to be a mirage as Pan Gon's men were swept aside like loose desert sand.
Despite seven of Malaysia's first 11 consisting of naturalised or heritage players, it made no difference. Harimau Malaya were no more than paper tiger.
Malaysia could have lost by a bigger margin if Jordan's Mousa Al Tamari's goal was denied by VAR for offside in the 25th minute.
Malaysia were already in big trouble not long after the match started. Jordan jumped to a quick 2-0 lead with goals from Mahmoud Al Mardi (12th minute) and Al Tamari (18th).
Harimau Malaya seemed nervous and had trouble finding their footing, and looked more like scaredy cats.
A soft foul by Matthew Davies in the 18th minute led to a penalty converted by Al Mardi.
Jordan slammed in their third goal in the 32nd minute after goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi was "lured" out by Yazan Al Naimat, whose cross found Mardi who easily found the net.
Malaysia's best chance for a goal came just before half-time but Stuart Wilkin's left footed shot veered outside the Jordan post.
The second half saw coach Kim Pan Gon bringing on substitutes Paulo Josue, Akhyar Rashid, Safawi Rasid and Mohamadou Sumareh but this still failed to yield a single goal. Instead Jordan bagged their fourth goal in the 85th minute through Tamari.
Earlier in the day, South Korea defeated Bahrain 3-1 in a Group E match. Korea's goals were scored by
Hwang In Beom (38th) and Lee Kang In (56th and 68th). Bahrain replied through Abdullah Al Hashash (51st).