NATIONAL coach Tan Cheng Hoe will do well to remember that he was in a similar position nine years ago when Malaysia required a win over Indonesia to advance to the AFF Cup semi-finals.
Just as Malaysia need to beat Indonesia today to finish at least second in Group B, the national team trailed Indonesia by a point in third place ahead of the last group game in 2012 when Cheng Hoe was assistant to K. Rajagobal.
Azamuddin Akil and Mahalli Jasuli scored in a 2-0 win to secure Malaysia's spot in the last four at Indonesia's expense.
Cheng Hoe aside, defender Aidil Zafuan Radzak played in that match while midfielder Baddrol Bakhtiar and goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat were unused substitutes.
Roles are changed this time, with Cheng Hoe having taken the national team's reins. Khairul Fahmi and Baddrol are expected to start, while Aidil is sidelined by an injury suffered in the 3-0 defeat to Vietnam last Sunday.
Malaysia had the advantage of a home crowd at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil in 2012 although the national team do have a historic advantage over Indonesia this time too.
In five meetings with Indonesia in Singapore, Malaysia have drawn four and won 3-1 in the 1996 AFF Cup semi-final in their last encounter across the Causeway.
Today's match is also the first time the "Nusantara derby" is taking place on neutral ground in 22 years following Indonesia's 6-0 win at the 1999 Sea Games in Bandar Sri Begawan.
The two teams have split their eight meetings in the AFF Cup with each winning four apiece but having assembled one of the weakest national teams in recent memory, Malaysia are up against it when they take to the National Stadium in Kallang.
Not since 1998, when the FA of Malaysia sent a largely youthful team made up of Olympic squad players to Hanoi, has the Malaysian team looked so underwhelming.
Current national goalkeeping coach Azmin Azram Aziz played in all three games at the 1998 tournament where Malaysia did not score a single goal.
At least, Malaysia will be strengthened by the return of winger Faisal Halim and possibly midfielder Junior Eldstal and fullback Quentin Cheng, but this is set against the loss of the first-choice centre-back pairing of Shahrul Saad and Aidil.
It may be premature to write off Malaysia just yet, as Eldstal, who went off early in Malaysia's opener against Cambodia with an abdominal strain before missing the next two matches, believes.
While it will be a much-changed national team lining up today from the side which defeated Indonesia 2-0 in their last meeting in a World Cup qualifier in 2019, Eldstal believes the hunger for success from youngsters like Safawi Rasid and Arif Aiman Hanapi can carry Malaysia to victory.
"We came to the tournament with a lot of people criticising the team and the selections, but the boys who have come in are all doing a great job in my eyes.
"They are giving it everything, and I can't fault anyone here at all," Eldstal told The John Dykes Show on Disney+ Hotstar.
"Safawi's confidence went down recently, and when you've got so many people against you, it's times like these when you've got a chance to prove yourself, and this is exactly what he has done.
"Arif Aiman, you can't catch him in one-on-ones, and I'm happy to see him get his confidence back. He's so happy to be doing this for his country. Not to prove anybody wrong but to prove right to himself in his ability at this level."
Safawi scored both the goals in the 2-0 win over Indonesia in Bukit Jalil and Garuda coach Shin Tae Yong would be wary of the Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) winger returning to haunt his team.
While Indonesia may have looked impressive in their first three matches, it belies the fact that only two players in the Indonesian squad have more than 15 caps, with Nigerian-born defender Victor Igbonefo recalled after six years in the international wilderness.
Tae Yong has also brought back Dutch-born forward Ezra Walian and handed Ipswich Town's 19-year-old defender Elkan Baggott his international debut.
Baggott aside, Indonesia has five other foreign-based players in Egy Maulana Vikri (Slovakia's Senica), Witan Sulaeman (Poland's Lechia Gdansk), Asnawi Mangkualam (South Korea's Ansan Greeners), Ryuji Utomo (Penang) and Syahrian Abimanyu (JDT).
While Indonesia showcased an ultra-defensive style to grind out a 0-0 draw against Vietnam, their speed on the ball was evident in their previous two matches with Ezra, Witan, Irfan Jaya and Ricky Kambuaya looking threatening going forward.
But this is where Malaysia can exploit when the gaps inevitably open as Indonesia pushes forward.
"Indonesia have a young squad, and their willingness to keep fighting really impressed me. Baggott has been impressive, and they need that leadership in a young squad to drive them forward," said Chonburi's Eldstal.
"But what we have is the experience of having played Indonesia many times, although it has never been easy. It's something we can exploit (their relative inexperience).
"One of the reasons they brought on the English lad (Baggott) is because they started to struggle a bit (against Laos). When you are attacking at 100 miles an hour you are going to leave holes, and we've got the players like Syafiq Ahmad, Safawi, Arif Aiman to exploit that."
