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Malaysia national football team facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Malaysia women's national football team.
Quick facts for kids
Malaysia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Harimau Malaya
(Malayan Tiger)
Association Football Association of Malaysia
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation AFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coach Pau Martí Vicente
Captain Dion Cools
Most caps Soh Chin Ann (195)
Top scorer Mokhtar Dahari (89)
Home stadium Bukit Jalil National Stadium
FIFA code MAS
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 167 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 75 (8 August 1993)
Lowest 178 (15 March 2018)
Elo ranking
Current 173 Increase 10 (3 March 2019)
Highest 61 (1 March 1977)
Lowest 185 (September 2018)
First international
 Malaysia 1–1 Thailand 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 12 October 1963)
Biggest win
 Malaysia 11–0 Philippines 
(Tehran, Iran; 7 September 1974)
Biggest defeat
 United Arab Emirates 10–0 Malaysia 
(Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 3 September 2015)
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances 4 (first in 1976)
Best result Group stage (1976, 1980, 2007, 2023)
AFF Championship
Appearances 14 (first in 1996)
Best result Champions (2010)
Medal record
Asian Games
Bronze 1974 Tehran Team
SEA Games
Bronze 1969 Myanmar Team
Silver 1971 Malaysia Team
Bronze 1973 Singapore Team
Silver 1975 Thailand Team
Gold 1977 Malaysia Team
Gold 1979 Indonesia Team
Silver 1981 Philippines Team
Bronze 1983 Singapore Team
Bronze 1985 Thailand Team
Silver 1987 Indonesia Team
Gold 1989 Malaysia Team

The Malaysia national football team (Malay: Pasukan bola sepak kebangsaan Malaysia) represents Malaysia in international football and is governed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognised by FIFA as the successor of the defunct Malaya national football team which was founded for the 1963 Merdeka Tournament one month before the institution of Malaysia. The team is officially nicknamed Harimau Malaya in reference to the Malayan Tiger. Former player Mokhtar Dahari is one of the top goal scorers in international history.

Whilst part of a group of four teams (the other three being Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand) of Southeast Asia who have each won the AFF Championship at least once, Malaysia has however failed to achieve major success outside their region other than a bronze won at the Asian Games in 1974. They have participated in the Summer Olympics once and four AFC Asian Cups.

History

Early years (1963–1969)

1958 Merdeka Cup Winner, Malaya
The winner of the second season of Merdeka Cup in 1958, Malaya football team, five years before the merger to form Malaysia. Also in the picture is Tunku Abdul Rahman (centre), the first Prime Minister of Malaya and at that time president of Football Association of Malaya & Asian Football Confederation.

Prior to 16 September 1963, North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore were represented by their own national teams, a situation which pre-dated the establishment of Malaysia. Malaya and Singapore often competed in international competitions such as the Merdeka Tournament while North Borneo and Sarawak competed in Borneo Cup. Malaya's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist of the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia after defeating South Vietnam 4–1 led by Abdul Ghani Minhat, who at that time was the first Asian player to reach 50 goals for the men's national teams.

1962 Borneo Cup Winner, North Borneo
The winner of the first season of Borneo Cup in 1962, North Borneo football team, one year before the merger to form Malaysia.

The beginning of the Malaysian football team match took place in Merdeka Stadium on 8 August 1963 with the combined strength of Singapore and Malaya (although the federation only existed after 16 September 1963). With the combined forces of Malaya and Singapore, the team began by facing Japan, and lost 3–4. The team continued to use a combination of players from Singapore and Malay Peninsula until the formation of the Malaysia team, wherein the Football Association of Malaya was succeeded by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The combination players with Singapore ended when the latter separated from Malaysia along with the establishment of Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and their subsequent reaffiliation with FIFA in 1965. Since then the squad was only represented by West Malaysian players, mainly due to travel time difficulties to East Malaysia and the players were not well known to the mainstream West Malaysian football. From 1966 to 1970, Chow Chee Keong was voted by Asian Football Confederation as the best Asian's goalkeeper for 5 straight years.

Olympic Tournament and Asia Competition (1970–1980)

Malaysia v. South Korea, 1972 Summer Olympics qualification
Malaysia vs. South Korea during the 1972 Summer Olympics qualifiers on 25 September 1971.

In 1971, James Wong of Sabah was the first player from East Malaysia to represent the country. Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, beating Japan 3–0, South Korea 1–0, Taiwan 3–0 and the Philippines 5–0 along the way. Although they managed to defeat the United States 3–0, they lost the other two matches with a score of 0–3 to West Germany and 0–6 to Morocco, ranking 10th in the final standings.

Malaysia v. West Germany, 1972 Summer Olympics
Malaysian goalkeeper Wong Kam Fook in action during the match against West Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich on 27 August 1972.

Since 1972, Mokhtar Dahari has been considered a legendary football player for the Malaysian team maintaining his place as one of the best players in Asia. He manage to score a total of 125 goals in 167 appearances for Malaysia (including matches played against club sides, national 'B' teams and selection teams). Against other nations' national 'A' teams, he scored 89 goals in 142 appearances. This makes him as one of the world's top scorer for men's national teams at one time.

Together with the record of Soh Chin Ann. According to both RSSSF and IFFHS, Soh is the player with the most international caps in men's football and become the first men's footballers to reach 200 or more international caps (219). Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2–1. The team went on to qualify twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup, in 1976 and 1980. It was only in 1977; when the FAM sent a talent scout to the East. The list continued by the late James Yaakub of Sarawak in 1977. The team also won the Merdeka Tournament four times, became runner-up three times and achieved third place twice during the 1970s. Malaysia qualified again for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, beating Indonesia 6–1, South Korea 3–0, Brunei 3–1, Philippines 8–0 and tied with Japan 1–1. Thus, the team meet South Korea in the play-off match. Malaysia won the play-off against South Korea with a 2–1 scored in the Merdeka Stadium and qualified but joined the US-led boycott of the games as the Malaysian government made a decision to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.

1976 AFC Asian Cup Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Kuwait 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 4
 China 2 0 1 1 1 2 –1 1
 Malaysia 2 0 1 1 1 3 –2 1

Malaysia participated the 1976 AFC Asian Cup for the first time, meeting Kuwait and China in Group A. During the tournament, Malaysia came in third place in the group, losing 0–2 to Kuwait in the opening match and drew 1–1 with China in the second match.

1980 AFC Asian Cup Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 South Korea 4 3 1 0 10 2 +8 7
 Kuwait 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 5
 Malaysia 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 4
 Qatar 4 1 1 2 3 8 −5 3
 United Arab Emirates 4 0 1 3 3 9 −6 1

Malaysia made its second Asian Cup appearance in 1980, placed in Group B alongside South Korea, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. They managed to hold South Korea 1–1 in the first match, but would lose 1–3 to Kuwait before regaining a 2–0 victory against the United Arab Emirates. Malaysia would eventually finish 3rd after holding Qatar 1–1 in their last match.

Falling performances and drought (1990–2009)

NZvMalLineup1
The Malaysian team (yellow) against New Zealand (white) during a friendly match in Queen Elizabeth II Park, Christchurch, New Zealand, on 19 February 2006.

In 1994, Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the largest bribery scandals in the country. With the dearth of mainstream interest and lack of funds, Malaysian football has failed to repeat the performances of the 1970s and 1980s to qualify into major tournaments, despite the recruitment of Claude LeRoy. Allan Harris appointed as a new head coach in 2001. Harris came with strong credentials, having assisted Terry Venables at FC Barcelona. In the second half of 2004, FAM appoint Bertalan Bicskei, former Hungarian goalkeeper and national coach, to succeed Allan Harris. Bicskei led the national side to third place at the regional Tiger Cup tournament, but was demoted to youth development duties by FAM for his actions during a friendly against Singapore in Penang on 8 June 2005. Bicskei, disgusted by the standard of officiating, threw a bottle onto the pitch before confronting a Singapore player. In September 2005, his contract was terminated after a mutual agreement.

Norizan Bakar became the next head coach of the Malaysian team. He guided the Malaysian squad to the 2007 AFF Championship semifinals in 2007, where Malaysia lost through penalties to Singapore. Norizan's position as the head coach was criticised by the Malaysian football community, fans and officials alike, after the team's performances during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup as co-host of the edition, where Malaysia lost to China 1–5, Uzbekistan 0–5 and Iran 0–2. After the removal of Norizan Bakar, B. Sathianathan took over as head coach. Although he guided the squad to win the 2007 Merdeka Tournament, Malaysia once again failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing 1–4 and drawing 0–0 with Bahrain in the qualifying round. In March 2008, Sathianathan once again reached the final of the Merdeka Tournament. However, Malaysia lost on penalties to Vietnam. Sathianathan also led Malaysia to the semi-finals of the 2008 Myanmar Grand Royal Challenge Cup. However, Malaysia then shockingly lost 1–4 to the eventual winners, Myanmar.

During the 2008 AFF Championship, Malaysia started their campaign with a 3–0 win over Laos but were defeated in the second match by Vietnam with a score of 2–3 and were finally eliminated when they lost 0–3 to Thailand in the final match of the group stage. This was the first time that the Malaysian squad had not passed through the group stages in 12 years. There were also reports that match-fixing and bribery that infiltrated Malaysian football in 1994 have returned. In the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Malaysian team lost 0–5 to the United Arab Emirates. This defeat was the final straw in the eyes of Malaysian supporters, and in February 2009, the contracts of Sathianathan and manager Soh Chin Ann were terminated.

FA Premier League Asia Cup (2003)

In July 2003, Malaysia qualified for the 2003 FA Premier League Asia Cup as the host nation and as the only national team to ever do so, and on 24 July 2003, they lost 4–1 against Chelsea in the semi-finals in a match where Hairuddin Omar scored Malaysia's only goal of the tournament to bring the match to 1–1. In the third-place playoff on 26 July 2003, they lost 4–0 against Birmingham City and placed fourth in the tournament.

AFF Championship triumph (2010)

Soccer Field Transparant.svg

Malaysia
Fahmi
Malaysia
Muslim
Malaysia
Fadhli
Malaysia
Asraruddin
Malaysia
Sabre
Malaysia
Safiq
Malaysia
Amar
Malaysia
Kunanlan
Malaysia
Norshahrul
2010 AFF Championship champion second-leg finals starting line-up.

In April 2009, K. Rajagopal was named the new coach of Malaysia replacing B. Sathianathan and took over the position in July 2009, of which he also looked after the Malaysia under-23 squad. Rajagopal's first match was against Zimbabwe, which Malaysia won 4–0. Rajagopal also coached Malaysia in two games against visiting English champions, Manchester United, losing both matches 2–3 and 0–2. During his time as the coach of the Under-23 team, Rajagopal led Malaysia to their fifth SEA Games gold medal and also led Malaysia to qualify for the second round of the 2010 Asian Games as one of the best four third-placed teams after a lapse of 32 years.

During the 2010 AFF Championship, a total of 14 Malaysia's players were under the age of 23. Placed in group A and lost the first match to host Indonesia 1–5, Malaysia bounced back from defeat drawing Thailand and beating Laos 5–1. As runner up of group, Malaysia qualified for the semi-finals to meet Group B winners and defending champions Vietnam. In the first leg of the semifinal, Malaysia won 2–0 on home soil and later drew 0–0 in the second leg, advancing to the final with an aggregate of 2–0. An opportunity of revenge opened up in the finals as Malaysia again met Indonesia, who were unbeaten in all previous matches.

On the first leg of the finals at home, Malaysia won 3–0. Malaysia scored twice through Safee Sali and once through Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin on a night when Bukit Jalil National Stadium was filled over capacity for the first time since it was built. The match attracted so many people that after tickets were sold out, policemen manning the gates were seen allowing friends and relatives into the stadium, causing people to trespass onto the cable bridge above the electronic display besides standing on the aisles and corridors to view the game. On the second leg of the finals that was held in Jakarta, Malaysia lost 1–2 to Indonesia but the final aggregate was 4–2 to Malaysia, thus Malaysia were awarded the title. It was the first time in history that Malaysia were crowned the champions of AFF Championship and a trophy in the international stage.

Stagnation (2011–2022)

Since the 2010s, the expectations of improved performances rose, but the team still failed to deliver any new high achievements or set new records. In June 2014, Dollah Salleh replaced Rajagobal as the head coach after his contract has ended. Dollah guided Malaysia to the final of the 2014 AFF Championship but failed to replicate the same form as the previous head coach. In the following international fixtures, the coach has also recorded 0–6 losses to Oman and Palestine as well as 1–1 draw against Timor-Leste. However, the 0–10 defeat to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia's worst ever defeat in history, prompted his resignation as the head coach. The place was taken by interim coach Ong Kim Swee who was later promoted as the head coach until the end of March 2017. The official coaching post then was taken over by Portuguese coach Nelo Vingada in the hopes of raising the Malaysian football performances. On 13 June, Malaysia played their first match in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification against Lebanon. Despite having a 1–0 lead during the first half, they eventually lost the match with a score 1–2. Malaysia's poor performance however, continued. Despite being given high hopes and expectations from the match against Hong Kong, Malaysia only managed a 1–1 draw, before losing to the same team 0–2 in Hong Kong. As for the result, frustration happened in the team and Malaysia suffered two consecutive defeats against North Korea, with both matches ending 1–4. Malaysia also lost the second final match against Lebanon in Beirut by 1–2. With only 1 draw and 5 defeats, Malaysia was subsequently eliminated from the qualification. The coaching position was taken over by the team assistant coach Tan Cheng Hoe in late 2017 after Vingada stepped down following a string of poor results.

After failure to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Malaysia proceeded with its journey in the 2018 AFF Championship and was grouped with rival Vietnam together with Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Malaysia won second place with three wins and only one loss against Vietnam. By qualifying as group runners-up, Malaysia faced Thailand, the fierce rival in their long-time head-to-head records as well as the reigning champions in the tournament, where they were able to overcome the latter by holding them 2–2 in Thailand's home stadium of Bangkok, winning the match by away goals rule in one of the tournament's greatest shock despite being tied 0–0 earlier at home. In the finals, they met Vietnam again and held the latter 2–2 at home before losing 0–1 in Vietnam's home ground of Hanoi, subsequently finishing the tournament with an aggregate of 2–3 as the runners-up for the third time in their AFF Cup history. Despite being unable to achieve the AFF Cup the second time, the enhancing performance of Malaysia was seen with the emergence of new talents coming from its youth football development which brought a hope in future.

Malaysia participated in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification from the first round due to poor record previously, but facing Timor-Leste, Malaysia easily destroyed the Timorese 12–2 on aggregate. In the second round, they were grouped with three other Southeast Asian rivals; Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, alongside the United Arab Emirates. Malaysia opened their game with a 3–2 comeback victory over rival Indonesia in a match filled with scandal and strong Anti-Malaysian sentiment among Indonesians. It was followed by an unlucky 1–2 home loss to the UAE where the Emiratis bounced back from an early goal. The next encounter was against rival Vietnam in Hanoi, which was the rematch of their 2018 AFF Championship match, ended with another Malaysian defeat as Malaysia fell 0–1. However, Malaysia has not been eliminated as the team can still get an opportunity to qualify further. Then, Malaysia managed one of the most famous victories in their FIFA World Cup campaign, beating neighbour and regional powerhouse Thailand 2–1 at home to keep its dream alive. Malaysia boosted its confidence with its victory over Thailand to overcome a demoralised Indonesia, also at home, 2–0, to occupy second spot behind Vietnam and above Thailand.

However, due to COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Malaysia's performance heavily dropped. Prior to the last 3 matches of 2022 FIFA World Cup, many key players were affected, causing Tan Cheng Hoe to call up new players and veteran players. They lost 0–2 against Bahrain and 1–4 against Kuwait in a friendly match, before losing 0–4 to UAE and 1–2 against Vietnam. Although Malaysia managed to win 1–0 against Thailand in the final qualification match, ultimately they failed to advance to the final round. Following Malaysia's failure to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2020 AFF Championship in Singapore, Tan Cheng Hoe resigned as the head coach of Football Association of Malaysia.

Resurgence of Harimau Malaya (2022–present)

After Tan Cheng Hoe's resignation, former vice president of Korea Football Association, Kim Pan-gon was appointed as Malaysia's new national team coach on a 2-year contract. His first task was the 2022 FAS Tri-Nations Series held in Singapore in March 2022. At that time, Pan-gon recorded his first success when Malaysia won 2–0 against Philippines but suffered a subsequent 1–2 loss to Singapore in the next match. Pan-gon's next challenge came when Malaysia faced Brunei and Hong Kong in a series of friendly matches as part of preparations for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification. Malaysia won 4–0 against Brunei and 2–0 against Hong Kong, raising confidence and support from FAM and Malaysians in the hope of improving Malaysian football's fortunes which had declined in the previous years.

In the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Malaysia faced 3 matches which began with a 3–1 victory against Turkmenistan in the first match, suffering a 1–2 lost to Bahrain, before successfully ending their campaign by defeating Bangladesh with 4–1. Thus, Malaysia finished second in Group E behind Bahrain and automatically qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup on merit after 42 years. Shortly thereafter, Malaysia's FIFA ranking rose up to 147th from 154th in March 2022. Later in September 2022, Malaysia entered the 2022 King's Cup in Thailand, facing the host and later, Tajikistan in the final. Malaysia won 5–3 on penalties against Thailand after a 1–1 draw but later failed to win the cup after a 0–3 lost in the penalty shootout after being held to a goalless draw.

2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
 Bahrain 3 3 0 0 5 1 +4 9 2023 AFC Asian Cup
 Malaysia (H) 3 2 0 1 8 4 +4 6
 Turkmenistan 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
 Bangladesh 3 0 0 3 2 8 −6 0

At the end of 2022, before the start of the 2022 AFF Championship campaign, Malaysia held 2 friendly matches against Cambodia and Maldives, winning 4–0 and 3–0 respectively. In the 2022 AFC Championship, Malaysia has won 1–0 against Myanmar with Syihan Hazmi saving a late penalty to secure the win for Malaysia. In the next match, Malaysia went on to thrash Laos 5–0 but lost 0–3 against Vietnam in a controversial match that led to Azam Azmi's red card. Yet, Malaysia won 4–1 against causeway rivals, Singapore in the last match being the first time Malaysia had won over Singapore on home soil which also sees Malaysia finishing in second place of Group B, thus seeing them automatically qualified to semi-finals match against Thailand. Malaysia won the first leg of the match with Faisal Halim scoring the only goal in the match but in the second leg, Thailand scored thrice which see Malaysia failing to enter the final after with a 3–1 aggregate defeat to Thailand. Despite this, Malaysia ended 2022 with astonishing results overall which see them rose up to 145th in FIFA ranking.

Later in March 2023, Malaysia won again against Turkmenistan with 1–0 and 2–0 against Hong Kong at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor in a series of friendlies. In June 2023, Malaysia won 4–1 against the Solomon Islands and recorded their second biggest victory ever when they won 10–0 against Papua New Guinea at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Terengganu. Shortly after, Malaysia's FIFA ranking rose up again to 137th in the world and 4th in ASEAN, behind the Philippines (135th), Thailand (113th) and Vietnam (95th), thus making it the highest ranking attained in 17 years.

In September 2023, Malaysia faced their biggest challenge ever when they met Syria and China in Chengdu, China. Malaysia passed the test after coming back from two goals down to manage a 2–2 draw with Syria and 1–1 with China respectively. In October 2023, the Merdeka Tournament was held after a 10-year absence, with Malaysia meeting India and Tajikistan. In the opening match, Malaysia won 4–2 against India in the semi-final but later lost to Tajikistan again 0–2 in the final.

2023 AFC Asian Cup

After 42 years of absence (excluding 2007, when Malaysia was one of the hosts), Malaysia went to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup with high expectations, as they were put in a group with Jordan, Bahrain, and South Korea. As part of the preparation for the tournament, Malaysia had a friendly match with Syria again with the same score as last year, a 2–2 draw.

Malaysia opened their tournament with a disastrous start, as they were beaten 0–4 by Jordan. In the second match against Bahrain, whom they met in the qualifiers, the game looked to be ending in a draw, until Ali Madan scored a last-minute goal for Bahrain. Thus, Malaysia failed to advance past the group stages of the AFC Asian Cup again after four appearances, while they were also struggling to find their first Asian Cup win since their last win in 1980. Malaysia headed into their final group stage fixture against the favourites in the group, South Korea. Within the 21st minute, Malaysia were already 1–0 down through a Jeong Woo-yeong header, heading into the second half of the match on the back foot. However, in the second half, Faisal Halim scored with an audacious chip against South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo (which was nominated as the goal of the tournament), followed up by a penalty slotted away by Arif Aiman to give Malaysia a surprising 2–1 lead against the Koreans. Eventually, a Lee Kang-in free-kick and a penalty from Son Heung-min put South Korea back in the lead. With the score 3–2 to the Koreans and the match surpassing the 90th-minute mark, it looked to be three losses out of three for Harimau Malaya until the 90+15th minute, when Romel Morales scored an equaliser against all odds. The match ended 3–3, securing a memorable draw, and earning Malaysia's first point since 1980.

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification - Second Round

Heading into the match against Oman in March, the Malaysian camp remained optimistic about getting positive results. However, Malaysia suffered 2–0 defeats, both away & at home. Malaysia then managed to get 1 point against Kyrgyzstan and 3 points against Chinese Taipei, and eventually finished in third place with 10 points. However, it proved insufficient as Kyrgyzstan finished second with 11 points, thus seeing Malaysia out of contention for the World Cup, and instead compete in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualification.

Kim Pan-gon's resignation

Following Malaysia's elimination from the World Cup qualification, on 16 July 2024, Pan-gon announced his resignation as Malaysia's national team head coach, citing personal commitments. Assistant coach Pau Martí Vicente will replace Pan-gon as the caretaker coach.

Team image

Media coverage

All matches of Malaysia are shown live on Astro Arena (friendlies, World Cup (2nd round only), and Media Prima (Asian Cup qualifiers), RTM (AFF Championship matches (except 2014 season), FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers), and (AFF Championship matches for 2014 season only). All matches are broadcast with both English (Astro only) and Malaysian commentary.

Kits

Kit provider Period Ref
none
 1963–1974
Germany Adidas 1975–1977
England Umbro 1978
Germany Adidas 1979–2006
United States Nike 2007–
2010 AFF Cup Final 2nd leg kit

Starting from the 1975 Merdeka Tournament until 1977, the Malaysia football team wore the kit from Adidas. In 1978, Malaysia switched to Umbro. From 1979 to 2006, the national team kit was manufactured and sponsored by Adidas. Since 2007, the official Malaysia team kit has been manufactured by Nike. The home kit design of black and yellow stripes is a throwback to the kit used by the Malayan national team in the 1920s. The national team of the 1970s also sported similar stripes, which are supposed to be reminiscent of the stripes of a tiger.

In November 2010, Nike Malaysia created a new football kit specially made for the 2010 AFF Championship. The home kit's design of black and yellow stripes is shaped by a black row of lines. The away kit features a plain blue front and red and white at the edge of the sleeves. Nike used the Malaysian flag as their logo instead of the Football Association of Malaysia logo to remember the team's success in the 1970s. On the underside of the flag, the quote "Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku" (The land that I spill my blood for) can be found. The quote is part of the Malaysia National Anthem, alluding that they are doing their best for the country.

The practice of using the flag on the kits ended when Malaysia got a new kit in late 2016. They have the FAM logo on the kits.

Grounds

Home Stadium

Malaysia's home stadium is the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. The stadium capacity is 87,411 (seated) which makes it the ninth largest football stadium in the world. Malaysia's previous national stadium was the Merdeka Stadium before the Bukit Jalil sports complex was constructed. Since the start of 2017, Malaysia has played its home matches in 5 different stadiums all over Malaysia with Kuala Lumpur Stadium second in line to host an international match.

When there were ongoing renovations at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, the team played at other stadiums such as Sultan Ibrahim Stadium and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium. Due to the high population in the Klang Valley, the other stadiums used do not get high support from the fans. The Bukit Jalil Stadium, which is the largest stadium in Malaysia with a capacity of 87,000, is still the home of the Malaya Tigers even though there are several events taking place a few days before the match.

Malaysia national football team home stadiums
Image Stadium Capacity Location Last match
National Stadium Bukit Jalil 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup final.jpg Bukit Jalil National Stadium 87,500 Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur v   Chinese Taipei
(11 June 2024; 2026 FIFA WC Qualifiers)
Aerial View of Kuala Lumpur Stadium.png Kuala Lumpur Stadium 18,000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur v   Maldives
(14 December 2022; Friendly)
Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium (Night) 2021.jpg Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium 50,000 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu v   Papua New Guinea
(20 June 2023; Friendly)
Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri.jpg Sultan Ibrahim Stadium 40,000 Iskandar Puteri, Johor v   Hong Kong
(28 March 2023; Friendly)

Training ground

Wisma FAM is the main headquarters for the Football Association of Malaysia which located at Kelana Jaya, Selangor. The training facility for the Malaysia national football team is also located at the Wisma FAM. Other than that, it also serves as a meeting point for the coaches and national players. Also equipped with a room for press statements and small apartment rooms available for the national players during the training camp. Sometimes, ticket matches are also sold on this training facility.

Supporters

Main article: Ultras Malaya
Ultras Malaya in Bukit Jalil Stadium, 2014 AFF Championship Final
A part of the action from Ultras Malaya during the 2014 AFF Championship second leg final match between Malaysia and Thailand. Thailand won the competition.

Ultras Malaya is the name of the major supporter of the national team in Malaysia. They are known for their high fanaticism and support towards the national team. In every international match the national team plays, they are found in a group standing in the supporters' area. The main colours for these supporters are usually black with a yellow scarf and banners just like the national team kit colours. These supporters always bring flares, drums and large national flags to the stadiums.

Sponsorship

According to the website of Football Association of Malaysia, Malaysia main sponsors include Bank Islam, Malaysia Airlines, Nike, Telekom Malaysia, 100plus, Extra Joss, KIA, Wonda Coffee, Origina, Sanctband Active, Milo and Kronos with the association also establish social responsibilities partners with One Goal and Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT).

Results and fixtures

See also: Malaysia national football team results (2020–present) and Malaysia national football team results

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

2024

Team officials

Roles Names Appointment date
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Spain Pau Martí Vicente 16 July 2024
Assistant Coaches Spain Juan Torres Garrido 16 July 2024
South Korea Park Bo-bae 17 February 2022
Malaysia Elavarasan Elangowan 17 February 2022
Goalkeeping Coach South Korea Cho Jun-ho 17 February 2022
Fitness Coach South Korea Park Ji-hyeon 1 November 2022
Performance Analyst South Korea Lim Jae-hun 17 February 2022
South Korea Lee Je-yoon 1 September 2022
Team Management and Supporting Staff
Physiotherapist Spain Edu Martinez
Malaysia Harris Zafran
Team Doctor Malaysia Zaidi Salleh
Masseuer Malaysia Zahari Mazlan
Malaysia Ramzi Zaini
Nutritionist Malaysia Ku Ahmad Azmeel Ku Muhseen
Kitman Malaysia Herman Pelani
Malaysia Suhardi Usop
Media Officer Malaysia Wan Mohd Fakhrul Anwar Wan Bakar
Team Administrator Malaysia Steven Paul Windsor
Security Officer Malaysia Hasni Hussin
Photographer Malaysia Jamie Nazmi

Coaching History

Players

Further information: List of Malaysia international footballers born outside Malaysia

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against  Laos and  India in November 2024.

Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2024, after the match against  India. The following players withdrew from the squad on 16 November 2024 due to non-injury issues: Matthew Davies, Feroz Baharudin and Arif Aiman.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Azri Ghani (1999-04-30) 30 April 1999 (age 25) 2 0 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur City
16 1GK Syihan Hazmi (1996-02-22) 22 February 1996 (age 28) 28 0 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
23 1GK Haziq Nadzli (1998-01-06) 6 January 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Malaysia Perak
3 2DF Safwan Mazlan (2002-02-22) 22 February 2002 (age 22) 3 0 Malaysia Terengganu
4 2DF Daniel Ting (1992-12-01) 1 December 1992 (age 32) 11 1 Malaysia Sabah
5 2DF Azam Azmi (2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 (age 23) 13 0 Malaysia Terengganu
6 2DF Dominic Tan (1997-03-12) 12 March 1997 (age 27) 34 0 Malaysia Sabah
21 2DF Dion Cools (1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 (age 28) 30 4 Thailand Buriram United
22 2DF Ubaidullah Shamsul (2003-11-30) 30 November 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Malaysia Terengganu
24 2DF Harith Haiqal (2002-06-22) 22 June 2002 (age 22) 3 1 Malaysia Selangor
25 2DF Adib Raop (1999-10-25) 25 October 1999 (age 25) 3 1 Malaysia Penang
8 3MF Stuart Wilkin (1998-03-12) 12 March 1998 (age 26) 24 5 Malaysia Sabah
10 3MF Ezequiel Agüero (1994-04-07) 7 April 1994 (age 30) 13 3 Malaysia Sri Pahang
14 3MF Syamer Kutty Abba (1997-10-01) 1 October 1997 (age 27) 39 2 Malaysia Penang
15 3MF Nooa Laine (2002-11-22) 22 November 2002 (age 22) 11 0 Malaysia Selangor
17 3MF Paulo Josué (1989-03-13) 13 March 1989 (age 35) 19 6 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur City
26 3MF Zhafri Yahya (1994-09-25) 25 September 1994 (age 30) 1 0 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur City
7 4FW Haqimi Azim (2003-01-06) 6 January 2003 (age 21) 8 1 Malaysia Terengganu
9 4FW Fergus Tierney (2003-03-19) 19 March 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Thailand Chonburi
11 4FW Safawi Rasid (1997-03-05) 5 March 1997 (age 27) 66 22 Malaysia Terengganu
13 4FW Fazrul Amir (2000-02-27) 27 February 2000 (age 24) 2 0 Malaysia Kelantan Darul Naim
19 4FW Akhyar Rashid (1999-05-01) 1 May 1999 (age 25) 56 10 Malaysia Terengganu
20 4FW Syafiq Ahmad (1995-06-28) 28 June 1995 (age 29) 40 10 Malaysia Kedah Darul Aman

Recent call-ups

The following footballers were part of national selection in the past twelve months, but are not part of the current call-up.


Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Azim Al-Amin (2001-09-20) 20 September 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Malaysia Selangor v. New Zealand, 14 Oct 2024
GK Kalamullah Al-Hafiz (1995-07-30) 30 July 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Malaysia Selangor v. Lebanon, 8 Sep 2024
GK Sikh Izhan (2002-03-23) 23 March 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Malaysia Penang v. Chinese Taipei, 11 June 2024
DF Matthew Davies (1995-02-07) 7 February 1995 (age 29) 55 0 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. Laos, 14 Nov 2024 WD
DF Feroz Baharudin (2000-04-02) 2 April 2000 (age 24) 5 0 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. Laos, 14 Nov 2024 WD
DF La'Vere Corbin-Ong (1991-04-22) 22 April 1991 (age 33) 40 4 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. New Zealand, 14 Oct 2024
DF Shahrul Saad (1993-07-08) 8 July 1993 (age 31) 58 5 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. Chinese Taipei, 11 June 2024
DF Declan Lambert (1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur City v. Chinese Taipei, 11 June 2024
DF Sharul Nazeem (1999-11-16) 16 November 1999 (age 25) 8 0 Malaysia Selangor v. Oman, 26 March 2024
DF Syahmi Safari (1998-02-05) 5 February 1998 (age 26) 26 1 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 2023 AFC Asian Cup INJ
DF Junior Eldstål (1991-09-16) 16 September 1991 (age 33) 23 0 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 2023 AFC Asian Cup INJ
DF Khuzaimi Piee (1993-11-11) 11 November 1993 (age 31) 9 0 Malaysia Selangor 2023 AFC Asian Cup
DF V. Ruventhiran (2001-09-24) 24 September 2001 (age 23) 9 0 Malaysia Selangor 2023 AFC Asian Cup PRE
MF Mukhairi Ajmal (2001-11-07) 7 November 2001 (age 23) 12 0 Malaysia Selangor v. Laos, 14 Nov 2024 INJ
MF Natxo Insa (1986-06-09) 9 June 1986 (age 38) 2 0 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. Laos, 14 Nov 2024 INJ
MF Endrick (1995-03-07) 7 March 1995 (age 29) 16 0 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City v. New Zealand, 14 Oct 2024 INJ
MF Afiq Fazail (1994-09-29) 29 September 1994 (age 30) 7 0 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. Lebanon, 8 Sep 2024
MF Brendan Gan (1988-06-03) 3 June 1988 (age 36) 37 1 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur City v. Chinese Taipei, 11 June 2024
MF Aliff Izwan (2004-02-10) 10 February 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Malaysia Selangor v. Oman, 21 March 2024 PRE
FW Arif Aiman (2002-05-04) 4 May 2002 (age 22) 32 7 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. Laos, 14 Nov 2024 WD
FW Romel Morales (1997-08-23) 23 August 1997 (age 27) 8 2 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim v. Laos, 14 Nov 2024 INJ
FW Darren Lok (1990-12-14) 14 December 1990 (age 34) 36 6 Malaysia Sabah v. New Zealand, 14 Oct 2024 INJ
FW Shamie Iszuan (1995-09-10) 10 September 1995 (age 29) 5 0 Malaysia Kuching City v. Chinese Taipei, 11 June 2024
FW Engku Nur Shakir (1998-10-16) 16 October 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Malaysia Terengganu v. Chinese Taipei, 11 June 2024
FW Faisal Halim (1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 26) 34 15 Malaysia Selangor v. Oman, 26 March 2024
FW Mohamadou Sumareh (1994-09-20) 20 September 1994 (age 30) 33 7 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 2023 AFC Asian Cup
Notes
  • INJ = Player withdrew from the current squad due to injury.
  • PRE = Preliminary or stand-by squad.
  • RET = Player has retired from national team.
  • WD = Player withdrew from the current squad due to a non-injury issue.

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Malaysia.
This list does not include players who represented Malaya (1948–1962).

Most appearances

Soh Chin Ann 2020 (cropped)
Soh Chin Ann is Malaysia's most capped player with 195 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Soh Chin Ann 195 13 1969–1984
2 Shukor Salleh 172 5 1970–1981
3 Mokhtar Dahari 142 89 1972–1985
Arumugam Rengasamy 142 0 1973–1986
5 Zainal Abidin Hassan 129 50 1980–1997
6 Chandran Mutveeran 122 2 1965–1974
7 Santokh Singh 119 7 1973–1984
8 Aidil Zafuan 98 3 2007–2022
9 Namat Abdullah 95 7 1968–1975
10 Ahmad Yusof 92 6 1981–1993

Top goalscorers

The late Mokhtar Dahari training at the field, c. 1970s
Mokhtar Dahari is Malaysia's top scorer with 89 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Mokhtar Dahari 89 142 0.63 1972–1985
2 Zainal Abidin Hassan Ali 50 129 0.39 1980–1997
3 Isa Bakar 45 69 0.68 1974–1981
4 Shaharuddin Abdullah 39 70 0.56 1967–1974
5 Dollah Salleh 33 81 0.41 1985–1996
6 James Wong 23 36 0.64 1972–1981
Safee Sali 23 76 0.3 2006–2017
8 Safawi Rasid 22 63 0.35 2016–present
10 Thanabalan Nadarajah 20 46 0.43 1964–1969
Wong Choon Wah 20 88 0.23 1968–1977

Competitive record

Further information: Malaysia national football team results

     Champion       Runners-up       Third place        Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup finals Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Round Pld W D L GF GA
as  Malaya as  Malaya
1930 to 1954 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1958 and 1962 Did not enter Did not enter
as Malaysia as Malaysia
1966 and 1970 Did not enter Did not enter
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify Round 1 4 1 1 2 2 4
Argentina 1978 Round 1 4 1 2 1 7 6
Spain 1982 Round 1 3 0 1 2 3 8
Mexico 1986 Round 1 4 2 1 1 6 2
Italy 1990 Round 1 6 3 1 2 8 8
United States 1994 Round 1 6 2 2 2 16 7
France 1998 Round 1 6 3 2 1 5 3
South Korea Japan 2002 Round 1 6 2 1 3 8 11
Germany 2006 Round 2 6 0 0 6 2 18
South Africa 2010 Round 1 2 0 1 1 1 4
Brazil 2014 Round 2 4 1 1 2 8 10
Russia 2018 Round 2 8 1 1 6 3 30
Qatar 2022 Round 2 10 6 0 4 22 14
Canada Mexico United States 2026 Round 2 6 3 1 2 9 9
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total N/A 0/18 0 0 0 0 0 0 Best: Round 2 75 25 15 35 100 134

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Round Pld W D L GF GA
United Kingdom 1948 See Malaya national football team 1 See Malaya national football team 1
Finland 1952
Australia 1956
Italy 1960
West Germany 1972 Round 1 10th of 16 3 1 0 2 3 9 Group stage Q 4 4 0 0 12 0
Canada 1976 Did not qualify Group stage 4 2 0 2 17 5
Soviet Union 1980 Withdrew B Group stage Q 5 4 1 0 21 3
United States 1984 Did not qualify Final stage 12 6 3 3 16 10
South Korea 1988 Group stage 2 0 1 1 2 3
Spain 1992 – present See Malaysia under-23 football team 2 See Malaysia under-23 football team 2
Total Appearance: 1 Best: 10th 3 1 0 2 3 9 Best: Final stage 27 16 5 6 68 21

AFC Asian Cup

Main article: Malaysia at the AFC Asian Cup
AFC Asian Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Round Pld W D L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 See Malaya national football team 1 See Malaya national football team 1
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964 Did not qualify Group stage 3 1 0 2 9 10
Iran 1968 Group stage 4 1 1 2 4 5
Thailand 1972 Group stage 5 4 0 1 15 3
Iran 1976 Group stage 5th of 6 2 0 1 1 1 3 Group stage Q 4 3 1 0 6 1
Kuwait 1980 Group stage 6th of 10 4 1 2 1 5 5 Group stage Q 5 2 2 1 8 4
Singapore 1984 Did not qualify Group stage 4 2 1 1 10 3
Qatar 1988 Group stage 4 1 1 2 4 6
Japan 1992 Group stage 3 0 2 1 2 6
United Arab Emirates 1996 Group stage 2 1 1 0 5 2
Lebanon 2000 Group stage 6 2 1 3 12 13
China 2004 Group stage 6 1 2 3 9 12
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam 2007 Group stage 16th of 16 3 0 0 3 1 12 Qualified as co-hosts
Qatar 2011 Did not qualify Group stage 4 0 0 4 2 12
Australia 2015 Group stage 6 2 1 3 5 7
United Arab Emirates 2019 Third round 14 1 2 11 8 45
Qatar 2023 Group stage 21st of 24 3 0 1 2 3 8 Third round Q 13 8 0 5 30 18
Saudi Arabia 2027 To be determined To be determined
Total Appearances: 4 Best: 5th 9 1 3 5 7 20 Best: Third round 82 29 15 38 129 147

ASEAN Championship

Asian Games

Southeast Asian Games

  • * : Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
  • 1 : Represented in the competition by Malaya national football team.
  • 2 : Represented in the competition by Malaysia national under-23 football team.
  • 3 : Not a FIFA 'A' international competition.
  • 4 : Represented in the competition by Malaysia national under-22 football team.
  • 5 : Previously known as Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP Games).
  • B : Qualified to the final round, but boycotted the tournament.
  • C : These matches are not regarded as part of the national team's record, nor are caps awarded.
  • Q : Qualified to the final round of participating tournament
  • S : Shared the medal

Notes:

  • Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil

Head-to-head record

Last update was against   India on 18 November 2024.

FIFA ranking

Last update was on 19 November 2024. Source:

     Worst Ranking       Best Ranking       Worst Mover       Best Mover  

Malaysia's FIFA world rankings
Rank Year Games
Played		 Won Draw Lost Best Worst
Rank Move Rank Move
2024 12 4 3 5 138 Decrease –8
130 2023 13 9 2 2 130 Increase +15 137 Decrease –3
145 2022 14 9 2 3 145 Increase +9 154 Steady 0
154 2021 10 3 0 7 153 Increase +1 155 Decrease –1
153 2020 0 0 0 0 153 Increase +1 154 Steady 0
154 2019 13 9 0 4 154 Increase +9 168 Decrease –1
     178 2018 17 8 4 5 167 Increase +12 178 Decrease –4
174 2017 8 0 2 6 155 Increase +4 174 Decrease –12
161 2016 14 5 4 5 156 Increase +9 174 Decrease –8
170 2015 11 2 3 6 153 Increase +4 171 Decrease –11
154 2014 15 5 3 7 141 Increase +9 156 Decrease –8
154 2013 11 1 1 9 154 Increase +4 164 Decrease –5
158 2012 17 6 6 5 148 Increase +5 163 Decrease –6
148 2011 10 3 3 4 138 Increase +7 155 Decrease –6
144 2010 10 4 2 4 139 Increase +3 159 Decrease –5
160 2009 12 4 3 5 150 Increase +5 163 Decrease –8
156 2008 13 6 3 4 151 Increase +9 170 Decrease –6
159 2007 13 3 3 7 149 Increase +7 166 Decrease –7
152 2006 7 1 3 3 124 Increase +1 153 Decrease –19
123 2005 7 2 1 4 111 Increase +6 123 Decrease –7
120 2004 16 7 0 9 114 Increase +4 122 Decrease –4
116 2003 7 1 3 3 99 Increase +21 119 Decrease –11
128 2002 11 3 3 5 111 Increase +1 128 Decrease –6
111 2001 9 3 1 5 105 Increase +3 111 Decrease –3
107 2000 20 10 3 7 104 Increase +8 117 Decrease –3
117 1999 8 4 0 4 113 Increase +2 118 Decrease –3
113 1998 4 0 2 2 88 Increase +3 113 Decrease –11
87 1997 14 6 3 5 84 Increase +13 97 Decrease –3
     96 1996 8 4 3 1 91 Increase +21 112 Decrease –10
     106 1995 6 2 1 3 94 Increase +14 117 Decrease –23
89 1994 5 1 1 3 84 Increase +8 95 Decrease –6
     75 1993 11 4 3 4 75 Increase +16 79 Decrease –2
Notes
  • Table above is a list of all FIFA 'A' international matches Malaysia have played against FIFA recognised teams.

Honours

Continental

  • Asian Games
    • 3 Bronze medal (1): 1974

Regional

  • AFF Championship
    • 1 Champions (1): 2010
    • 2 Runners-up (3): 1996, 2014, 2018
    • 3 Third place (2): 2000, 2004
  • Southeast Asian Games
    • 1 Gold medal (3): 1977, 1979, 1989
    • 2 Silver medal (4): 1971, 1975, 1981, 1987
    • 3 Bronze medal (4): 1969, 1973, 1983, 1985

Friendly

  • Merdeka Tournament
    • 1 Champions (8): 1968, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979 (shared), 1986, 1993, 2024
    • 2 Runners-up (7): 1969, 1972, 1975, 1980, 2000, 2008, 2023
  • South Vietnam Independence Cup
    • 1 Champions (1): 1971
    • 2 Runners-up (3): 1965, 1966, 1973
  • King's Cup
    • 1 Champions (4): 1972, 1976 (shared), 1977 (shared), 1978
    • 2 Runners-up (2): 1973, 2022
    • 3 Third place (2): 1970, 1974
  • Jakarta Anniversary Tournament
    • 1 Champions (1): 1970
    • 2 Runners-up (1): 1975
  • Korea Cup
    • 3 Third place (1): 1977 (shared)
  • Indonesian Independence Cup
    • 1 Champions (1): 1992
  • AirMarine Cup
    • 3 Third place (1): 2019
  • Tri-Nations Series
    • 2 Runners-up (1): 2022

Summary

Competition 1 2 3 Total
Asian Games 0 0 1 1
AFF Championship 1 3 2 6
Southeast Asian Games 3 4 4 11
Total 4 7 7 18

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Malasia para niños

  • Malaysia national football team results
  • Malaysia national under-23 football team
  • Malaysia national under-22 football team
  • Malaysia national under-19 football team
  • Malaysia national under-16 football team
  • Malaysia women's national football team
  • Malaysia national futsal team
  • Malaysia women's national futsal team
  • Malaysia League XI
  • Football Association of Malaysia
  • List of Malaysia footballers born outside Malaysia
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