Indonesia head coach Alfred Riedl hailed the fighting spirit of his underdog side ahead of next week's AFF Suzuki Cup final against Thailand.
The two nations will face off on Dec.14 in Bogor, near Jakarta, before heading to Bangkok for the second leg on Dec. 17.
The Indonesians have defied all odds to make their first final in six years after upstaging Vietnam 4-3 on aggregate over two legs in their semifinal.
Twenty four hours later, the Thais thrashed Myanmar 4-0 in their second-leg semifinal at the Rajamangala Stadium to progress to the decider on a 6-0 aggregate.
Holding a 2-1 lead from the first-leg semifinal, Riedl's men held their nerve in a 2-2 extra-time thriller in the return leg at Hanoi's My Dinh Stadium.
Victory brought cheer to the football-crazy nation, which was rocked by an earthquake in the nation's Aceh province which claimed 102 lives earlier in the day.
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"No one was counting on us before the tournament, but here we are in the final," Riedl told the tournament's official website.
"We never gave up, even though our opponents were stronger. When every player you bring on is doing a good job, it shows how strong the team spirit is. We needed a good result, achieved it, and are now in the final."
The Austrian boss was right about his side not being given a glimmer of hope, prior to the regional showcase.
The Merah Putih were rusty as they approached the tournament, having only just come off a year-long FIFA ban in May.
When they were drawn against defending champions Thailand, Singapore and co-hosts Philippines in Group A, many pundits across the region predicted their early exit.
But Indonesia defied all odds, recovering from a 4-2 defeat to Thailand in their opening game to hold fancied Philippines to a 2-2 draw in Bocaue, near Manila.
In the final game, they sent four-time champions Singapore packing with a 2-1 win to book their place in the last four, thanks to Stefano Lilipaly's late winner.
The Dutch-Indonesian midfielder, who also scored on Wednesday night, says a first-leg final victory at home on Dec.14 will be crucial.
"We will be strong in the home game... we always play with the 12th man. It is important that we win at home, and in the away leg we will see," said Lilipaly, who described the strike that gave Indonesia the lead against Vietnam as the "most important goal of his life."
"I would love to score again, but perhaps this time I will score a nicer goal against Thailand," he said.
The first of the two-legged final will be played at the Pakansari Stadium in Bogor next Wednesday before the return-leg at Rajamangala, in Bangkok, three days later.