Ranked 116 in the FIFA rankings compared to Malaysia's lowly position of 158, Tajikistan arrived in Kuala Lumpur with big reputation ahead of the international friendly between the two teams but after 90 minutes at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Toshev's side did not look like they were significantly better than Tan Cheng Hoe's side.
In fact the opposite was true with Malaysia not only standing tall to their supposedly better opponents but also at times showing real dominance in the match. All that even before goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov was sent off for handling the ball outside his penalty box right at the start of the second half.