Danial scored the only goal of the game as Malaysia handed Saudi Arabia a defeat that took Ong Kim Swee’s side into the last eight for the first time, prompting emotional scenes on the pitch and back at home.

“Straight after the match I made a video call with my family and they were crying because they watched the game in Malaysia,” said the 20-year-old midfielder. “I’m very proud that I’ve made them proud of me.

“It was a tremendous feeling to score for my country and it was the winning goal. It is an indescribable feeling to score a goal like that. I don’t know how to explain my reaction. It’s hard for me to believe that I could score a goal and help my country create history.”

The Malaysians are making their debut appearance in the competition at this year’s event and are surprise qualifiers for the last eight after picking up a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in their final round of group matches to secure their berth in the knockout phase.

And Ong is confident his players can spring another surprise when they take on Kim Bong-gil’s side, despite the Koreans’ greater experience in the final rounds of continental competition.

“It’s another new ride for us, but Korea have been in this stage for a very long time,” he said. “They have a lot of success in these youth tournaments. For us, we are looking forward and hoping we can match them in every way possible.”

Ong’s team sealed a surprise 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to take second place in Group C behind Iraq and in the next phase of the competition, the Malaysians will face the winners of Group D, which will be determined on Wednesday evening.

Danial Amier Norhashim scored the only goal of the game before Ong’s team put on a disciplined defensive performance to keep the Saudis at bay and ensure Malaysia advanced.

“To achieve this is a great achievement,” Ong said. “The players have shown character and that we can compete with superior teams, not just Jordan but Saudi Arabia too. 

“We have not beaten Saudi Arabia in so many years. We drew against Jordan and we won against Saudi Arabia and that’s a massive achievement for our football.”

Danial’s 29th minute strike was enough to earn Malaysia their first win of the tournament and take them into the last eight in second place in the group, behind winners Iraq and ahead of Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Malaysia were forced into a determined rear-guard action throughout the final stages of the game as the Saudis chased the draw they needed to progress, but Daniel Teglia’s side could not find a way past the battling Southeast Asians.

The Saudis had started on the front foot, with Fahad Al Rashidi hitting the crossbar with barely two minutes on the clock with an inswinging free kick while Jaber Asiri threatened with a header just after the quarter hour mark.

Much of the play was taking place in the Malaysian half of the field, with Ong’s side pegged back by a Saudi side desperate to secure the win needed to advance to the quarter-finals.