In the closely-fought game at Grand Hamad Stadium, a more energetic second half proved to be the turning point for Kim Pan-gon’s charges after Paulo Josue emerged the hero by scoring the equaliser.

130th-ranked Malaysia dominated the first half, taking a 1-0 lead through Arif Aiman Hanapi in the 39th minute.

Syria, ranked 91st in the world, went on the offence in the second half before successfully breaching the Malaysian defence twice, with goals from Pablo Sabbag in the 70th minute and Ibrahim Hesar four minutes later.

However, Josue was the toast of Harimau Malaya when he equalised in the 78th minute.

The national side previously drew 2-2 against the Qasioun Eagles in a Tier 1 international match in Chengdu, China, last September.

The result this morning is positive news before Harimau Malaya officially kick off their Asian Cup quest on Jan 15.

Malaysia, who ended their 42-year wait to qualify for the Asian Cup on merit, will begin their Group E campaign against Jordan on Jan 15, followed by Bahrain (Jan 20) and two-time champions South Korea on Jan 25.

Only the champions and runners-up of each group along with the four best third teams will qualify for the round of 16 in Doha.

This is Malaysia’s fourth appearance in the Asian Cup after qualifying on merit in 1976 in Iran, 1980 in Kuwait and as co-hosts in 2007 but the side has never progressed to the last 16 of the tournament.