The defeat saw Juan Torres Garrido’s squad finish the campaign at the bottom of the group standings without any points following 2-0 defeats to Uzbekistan and Vietnam in the first two matches.

In the match against Kuwait, the rhythm of the Harimau Muda squad was disrupted when they had to play with 10 players after goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman was shown a red card at the end of the first half for fouling Kuwait captain Salman Mohammed outside the penalty box.

Forward Luqman Hakim Shamsudin was sacrificed by Garrido to bring in substitute goalkeeper Firdaus Irman Fadhil.

However, Malaysia fell behind at the end of the extended first half  through a penalty converted by Salman after Muhamad Umar Hakeem Suhar Rezwan was penalised for fouling Talal Al Qaisi following a review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.

Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi missed the chance to equalise for Malaysia in the 56th minute when he failed to finish a cross from Haqimi Azim Rosli before Firdaus saved a one-on-one attempt from Salman in the 59th minute.

However, a minute later, Malaysia faced more pressure as Emilio Peixe’s team successfully extended their lead after Talal headed in a cross from Sultan Al Faraj.

Malaysia narrowed the deficit in the 63rd minute with a goal from Hakimi Azim Rosli.

Entering the final 10 minutes of the match, Salman was ordered off the field after being shown a red card by referee Alexander King from Australia following a harsh tackle on Muhamad Umar Hakeem in the 83rd minute, leaving both teams to finish the game with 10 players.

The score remained 2-1 in favour of Kuwait until the final whistle, allowing Peixe’s team to surpass Malaysia to finish Group D in third place with one point, but still failing to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan progressed to the quarterfinals as the Group D champions after defeating Vietnam, who had also confirmed their ticket to the knockout rounds, 3-0 in another match at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.