Thailand took the field at Kuala Lumpur's Bukit Jalil Stadium as the Group G leaders, but when they left the imposing venue on Thursday night, they had lost both their 2022 World Cup qualifier 2-1 to Malaysia and the top spot to Vietnam.
Although Thailand got off to a fast start with playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin opening the scoring after seven minutes, the Tigers rallied with two goals from Brendan Gan in the 26th minute and Mohamdou Sumareh after 56 minutes.
The War Elephants have now failed to win at Bukit Jalil in four matches.
The man bearing the brunt of the blame for the loss was Thailand coach Akira Nishino, whose decision to drastically change the back four backfired in a spectacular manner in the Asia's second round qualifiers for Qatar 2022.
Vietnam, who host Thailand next on Tuesday, stunned the United Arab Emirates, the top seeded team in the group, 1-0 to open up a three-point gap at the top.
Thailand are now in second place with seven points, one more than the UAE and Malaysia. Indonesia have yet to claim any point after four matches.
The eight group winners and four best runners-up advance to the continent's 12-team final qualifying stage for the 2022 World Cup.
Nishino lined up a new centre-back duo, handing Elias Dolah a debut to play alongside Manuel Tom Bihr.
The Japanese coach also brought back Tristan Do on the right flank and Korrakot Wiriyaudomsiri played in place of suspended left wing-back Theerathon Bunmathan.
The two goals the Thais conceded were partly a result of their defensive errors.
Nishino was adamant in the wake of the defeat that the War Elephants' World Cup qualification chances were still in their own hands.
"My players were not determined enough to get the equaliser, and that was why we lost. Almost all of our departments did not play well," said the Japanese, who guided his country to the last 16 round of the 2018 World Cup.
"The grass type [of the pitch] might have played a small role, especially when Malaysia players are more familiar with it, but that's not the point [cause]. My team lacked composure."
But when asked about the fact that they had been pipped to the top spot by Southeast Asian rivals Vietnam due to the defeat, Nishino declined to comment on it.
"We knew since the day of the draw that it was going to be a very difficult group, so for now we'll be focusing on recovery and on doing well in the next match.
"Right now we need to focus on ourselves because we still have matches to play, and we need to improve," explained the former Japan boss.
Malaysia head coach Tan Cheng Hoe praised his players, saying: "I think the boys played one of their best games this year tonight, in what was a tough match against a strong team. But they showed their never-say-die attitude to bag the well-deserved three points.
"They conceded early, and this is the only weakness we haven't been able to root out. But it's only the halfway point and the win has boosted our morale for the remaining matches."
