BANGKOK, Thailand -- As Malaysia departed Rajamangala Stadium last Saturday following a 2-0 loss to Thailand in Group B of the 2026 ASEAN Championship, it was understandable if they were disappointed.
Crestfallen even.
But as they trudged out of the dressing room and onto the team bus, one player looked positively upbeat. And, for an inexperienced squad that should be brimming with youthful experience, it was remarkably their most-seasoned campaigner -- who probably was the one person who could have been forgiven had he looked a little weary -- who remained a figure of optimism.
Then again, Paulo Josué had not even been certain he would be featuring at the tournament -- only to now, with three goals from as many games, be the one leading the Malaysian charge -- both figuratively and literally, as the captain.
Having played in the Malaysia Super League with Kuala Lumpur City since 2017, Josué has been a very handy addition for Harimau Malaya since attaining citizenship three years ago.
Still, with Malaysian football undergoing some major upheaval in recent times -- with current coach Tan Cheng Hoe being handed the reins on an interim basis only at the end of June -- there was plenty of ambiguity surrounding their build-up to this year's ASEAN Championship, officially known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026.
After another long and arduous season with KL City, Josué was about to enjoy getting some much-needed rest in his 37-year-old legs back in his homeland of Brazil. Yet, when the call from his new nation came, it was one he was never going to ignore.
"It's been incredible for me, this couple of years," Josué told ESPN in an exclusive interview after the game against Thailand, when asked what it meant to him to captain Malaysia at Southeast Asia's premier international tournament.
"And with the coach giving me the armband for this tournament, I was quite surprised. I wasn't expecting that.
"Even the call-up, I don't know if I was expecting it. Suddenly they called me when I was in Brazil and asked me if I wanted to come. I'm always willing to come because that's the reason they gave me the passport, the Malaysian citizenship.
"So always, when they call, I'm ready to come.
"But yeah, I'm quite proud of myself. Proud to be leading the boys. I've scored a few goals so far so I hope to keep it up and qualify for the semifinals, and see what will happen."
Despite ultimately losing to Thailand, Malaysia gave a decent account of themselves against the tournament's record seven-time champions -- especially given the squad at Tan's disposal is far from their strongest or most experienced.
Hampered by clubs not being obliged to release players for the tournament, 19 of the 26 that Tan named in his squad had less than ten caps to their names prior to the start of the tournament. Nine were yet to make their senior international debut.
Amid the adversity, positives have emerged in the form of several prospects showing they could just be key members of Malaysia's long-term future -- including exciting winger G. Parvithran, and defenders V. Ruventhiran and Ubaidullah Shamsul.
With a bit of fortune, the Malaysians might even have had a point to show for their efforts last weekend - with Thailand handed a penalty upon VAR review to open the scoring, before their second goal game while opposition right-back Jimmy Raymond was off the field receiving medical treatment.
"Of course, there's a lot to improve but I think the boys showed a lot of good things on the field, especially in the first 20 minutes," Josué explained. "I think we did quite well.
"We had a few chances from the right side, especially through 'Mo' [Mohamadou Sumareh] and Jimmy but unfortunately we did not convert that into goals. After that, Thailand took over the game and controlled especially the middle with their midfielders.
"They started to build up their moment. Unfortunately, we [conceded] a penalty and then, [with the] second goal, we were a bit unlucky with Jimmy out of the game at that moment. I think we slipped a little bit in covering Jimmy's position in that moment and they just took the opportunity to score the second goal.
"I think it was a good match. It was something that the coach and coaching staff were kind of planning. Because we know coming to Thailand especially with their record it's not easy to come here and beat them. I think we had in our minds to at least get one point here but unfortunately it doesn't happen.
"But overall, I think [we showed] many good things. Many subs came in and did well, especially the fullback Faris [Danish] has done well, [and] the midfielders when they came in -- still many good things for the coach to review and then plan for the next match."
There initially had been a possibility that Malaysia could even qualify for the last four even prior to Saturday's decider against Philippines at Kuala Lumpur Stadium. Unfortunately, results in midweek did not go their way.
Harimau Malaya are in a curious scenario where even victory will not necessarily guarantee their progress yet a draw could be enough, depending on what happens in the other game between Thailand and Myanmar.
Simply, they just need to hold up their end of the bargain and get the job done, and then wait and see what result eventuates over in Bangkok.
"We still have a chance so we need to go to the last round against Philippines, try to beat them and then go to the semifinals," added Josué.
"It depends on us. It [will be] another game for us to get more chemistry together and get this bonding together. There was only ten days of camp [prior to the start of the tournament] and then we had games to play.
"It's not easy. It's a mixed call-up with the young boys and a few experienced players, so it's not easy to pick up everything that the coach wants in just ten days. But so far we've been doing well.
"We need to believe. I think we have a team good enough to beat Philippines. Even a draw might be a good result to qualify for the semifinals."