The Malaysia national football team represents Malaysia in external football and is controlled 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 calendar month before the mental hospital of Malaysia. The team is officially dub Harimau Malaya in character to the Malayan tiger. Residing in the group of 4 teams of Southeast Asia who has won the ASEAN Football Championship at least once, Malaysia fails to reach greater deed outside its area than a bronze south korean won at the asian Games in 1974 ; having participated in the Summer Olympics once and three AFC Asian Cups, the team failed to progress beyond the group stage in all occasions.
Reading: Malaysia national football team
Malaysia ‘s main rivals on the international stage are geographic neighbours : Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore with past matches have been produced and in particular, fixtures involving Indonesia being the most inflame among these that corresponds to political and social issues, named as ‘ Nusantara Derby ‘ or sometimes ‘Malay Derby ‘. [ 7 ]
etymology [edit ]
The Harimau Malaya dub have been used by the team ‘s predecessor, Malaya national football team. The dub referred to the national animal of Malaysia, the Malayan tiger. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Another reference stated the name was believed to have been derived from a Malayan football actor from Stulang Laut, Johor named Abdullah Mohd Don ( Dollah Don ) after he had been called “ Harimau Malaya ” by the founding father of Indonesia, Sukarno when he managed to equalise against an indonesian football club by scoring a hat-trick in a match between Singaporean Malay Club and Peseja ( Persija Jakarta ) in 1953 after trailing 3 goals behind them. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] Although the Federation of Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963, the dub is silent used by the national police squad, therefore sparking some debates whether it was appropriate as most malaysian in the East felt the “Malaya” term does not cover the unharmed country. [ 12 ] Some supporters in the East felt offended when the media in the West Malaysia kept using the term and dismissed their concerns. Some party in the West even insensitively said that it is equitable a belittled topic and the identify issue had been politicised as the term “ Malayan tiger “ came from an endangered autochthonal tiger subspecies in Malay Peninsula rather than a geopolitical reason. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] As part of rebranding of the national football team by FAM from 2 February 2016 forth, the dub Harimau Malaya was officially changed to Harimau Malaysia in a bid to be more inclusive to the East malaysian side. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] The Harimau Malaysia nickname was besides used to refer the former national player, Shaharuddin Abdullah. Since the 1970s, he was known as “ Harimau Malaysia ” by the football fans due to his ability to score many goals. He once scored 15 goals for Malaysia in the Merdeka Cup tournament which stood as a record for years. [ 18 ] however, during FAM congress in March 2017, it was decided that drastic measures will be taken to restructure all view of the national football arrangement and management. [ 19 ] This include the restitution of the old nickname of the team, Harimau Malaya starting from 3 April 2017 after using the terminus Harimau Malaysia for only one class. [ 20 ] [ 1 ] The sudden changes had besides affected all related websites and social media as they went through rebranding. The Harimau Malaysia web site has been taken down and all the updates concerning the national team will be posted on FAM web site. [ 1 ]
history [edit ]
early years ( 1963–1969 ) [edit ]
Before 16 September 1963, North Borneo ( now Sabah ), Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore were represented by their own national teams, a position which pre-dated the establishment of a Malaysia. [ 21 ] Malaya and Singapore normally competed in an external competition such as the Merdeka Tournament while North Borneo and Sarawak competed in Borneo Cup. Malaya ‘s biggest accomplishment in football was becoming the bronze medalist of the 1962 asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia after defeating South Vietnam 4–1 spark advance by Abdul Ghani Minhat, who that time the first Asian actor to reach 50 goals for men ‘s national teams. [ 22 ]
The achiever of the beginning temper of Borneo Cup in 1962, North Borneo football team, one year before the amalgamation to form Malaysia. The beginning of Malaysia football team match took invest in Merdeka Stadium on 8 August 1963 with the combine strength of Singapore and Malaya ( although the federation merely existed after 16 September 1963 ). With the aggregate forces of Malaya and Singapore, the team start their catch with Japan, thought miss 3–4. [ 23 ] The team continued to use combination of players from Singapore and Malay Peninsula until the formation of the Malaysia, 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. [ 24 ] Since then the police squad was only represented by West malaysian players, chiefly due to difficulties of that time to travel to East Malaysia and the players were not well known to 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 straightaway years. [ 25 ]
Asia ‘s most formidable ( 1970–1980 ) [edit ]
In 1971, James Wong of Sabah is the first player from East Malaysia to represent the area. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, beating Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines along the manner. Although they managed to defeat the United States 3–0, they lost the other 2 matches with a score of 0–3 to West Germany and 0–6 to Morocco, ranking 10th in the final standings. From 1972, Mokhtar Dahari is considered as the legend football player for the malaysian team as he booked his rate as one of the best players in Asia. [ 28 ] He manage to score 177 goals, of which the 177 goals for Selangor FA and his international career, Mokhtar scored a entire of 125 goals in 167 appearances for Malaysia ( including matches played against club sides, national ‘B ‘ teams and survival teams ). [ 29 ] Against other nations ‘ national ‘A ‘ teams, he scored 89 goals in 142 appearances. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] This makes him once the populace ’ s top scorer for men ‘s home teams. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] together with the phonograph record of Soh Chin Aun. According to both RSSSF and IFFHS, Soh is the actor with the most international caps in men ‘s football and become the first men ‘s footballers to reach 200 or more external caps. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] Two years by and by, Malaysia won their moment tan decoration at the 1974 asian Games after defeating North Korea 2–1. The team went on to qualify twice in a quarrel for the AFC Asian Cup, in 1976 and 1980. It was merely in 1977 ; when the FAM sent a endowment scout to the East. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] The list continued by the late James Yaakub of Sarawak in 1977. The team besides won the Merdeka Tournament three times, became runner-up four times and achieve third place doubly during the 1970s. Malaysia qualified again for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, but joined the US-led boycott of the games as the malaysian government made a decisiveness to protest the Soviet Union ‘s invasion of Afghanistan. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] [ 41 ]
1976 AFC Asian Cup Group A [edit ]
Team
Kuwait
2
2
0
0
3
0
+3
4
China PR
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 gear clock time, meeting Kuwait and China in Group A. During the tournament, Malaysia came in end in the group, losing 0–2 to Kuwait in the open match but managed to hold China to a 1–1 puff in the second equal .
1980 AFC Asian Cup Group B [edit ]
Team
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, and the United Arab Emirates. They managed to hold South Korea 1–1 in the first base match, but would lose 1–3 to Kuwait before regaining a 2–0 victory against United Arab Emirates. Malaysia would finally finish 3rd after holding Qatar 1–1 in their end match .
Falling performances and drought ( 1990–2009 ) [edit ]
In 1994, Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the largest bribery scandals in the country. [ 42 ] [ 43 ] With the dearth of mainstream sake and miss of funds, Malaysian football has failed to repeat the achievements of the 1970s and 1980s, despite the recruitment of Claude LeRoy. Allan Harris appointed as a raw head passenger car in 2001. Harris came with strong credentials, having assisted Terry Venables at FC Barcelona. In the moment half of 2004, FAM appoint Bertalan Bicskei, former Hungarian goalkeeper and national passenger car, to succeed Allan Harris. Bicskei led the national side to third gear 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 officiate, threw a bottle onto the slope before confronting a Singapore musician. In September 2005, his contract was terminated after a common agreement. [ 44 ] Norizan Bakar became the next lead 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 bus was criticised by the malaysian football residential district, fans and officials alike, after the team ‘s performances during the 2007 AFC asian Cup, 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 team 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 qualify round. In March 2008, Sathianathan once again reach the final of the Merdeka Tournament. however, Malaysia lost on penalties to Vietnam. Sathianathan besides led Malaysia to the semifinal finals of the 2008 Myanmar Grand Royal Challenge Cup. however, Malaysia then shockingly lost 1–4 to eventual winners, Myanmar. [ 45 ] During the 2008 AFF Championship, Malaysia started their crusade with a 3–0 win over Laos, but were defeated in the second match by Vietnam with a seduce of 2–3 and were finally eliminated when they lost 0–3 to Thailand in the concluding match of the group stagecoach. This was the beginning time that the malaysian squad had not passed through the group stages in 12 years. There are besides reports that match-fixing and bribery that infiltrate the malaysian football in the 1994 are returned. [ 46 ] In the 2011 asian Cup qualifiers, the Malaysian team lost 0–5 to the United Arab Emirates. This defeat was the concluding straw in the eyes of malaysian supporters, and in February 2009, the contracts of Sathianathan and coach Soh Chin Aun were terminated. [ 47 ]
AFF Championship triumph ( 2010 ) [edit ]
In April 2009, K. Rajagopal was named the new passenger car of Malaysia replacing B. Sathianathan and took over the position in July 2009, of which he besides looked after the Malaysia under-23 police squad. [ 49 ] Rajagopal ‘s first gear equal was against Zimbabwe, which Malaysia won 4–0. [ 50 ] Rajagopal besides coached Malaysia in two games against visiting english champions, Manchester United, losing both matches 2–3 and 0–2. During his clock as the passenger car of the Under-23 team, Rajagopal led Malaysia to their fifth SEA Games gold decoration and besides led Malaysia to qualify for the second gear round of the 2010 asian Games as one of the best four third-placed teams after a sink of 32 years. [ 51 ] [ 52 ] During the 2010 AFF Championship, a entire of 14 Malaysia ‘s players were under the long time of 23. Placed in group A and lost the foremost peer to host Indonesia 1–5, Malaysia bounced back from kill drawing Thailand and beating Laos 5–1. As ball carrier up of group, Malaysia qualified for the semitrailer finals to meet Group B winners and defending champions Vietnam. In the first leg of the semifinal, Malaysia won 2–0 on home territory and late drew 0–0 in the second stage, advancing to the concluding with an sum of 2–0. [ 53 ] An opportunity of revenge opened up in the finals as Malaysia again met Indonesia, who were unbeaten in all previous matches. On the inaugural branch of the finals at home, Malaysia won 3–0. malaysia scored doubly through Safee Sali and once through Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin on a night when Bukit Jalil National Stadium was filled over capability for the first time since it was built. The peer 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 having to trespass onto the cable bridge above the electronic display besides standing on the aisles and corridors to view the game. On the moment leg of the finals that was held in Jakarta, Malaysia lost 1–2 to Indonesia but the final aggregate was 4–2 to Malaysia, therefore Malaysia were awarded the claim. It was the first clock in history that Malaysia were crowned the champions of AFF Championship and a trophy in the international stage. [ 54 ]
hope for revival ( 2011–present ) [edit ]
Since the 2010s, the expectations to regain their success in the 1980s are rising despite the team still failed to deliver any newly high achievements records. [ 55 ] In June 2014, Dollah Salleh replaced Rajagobal as the head passenger car after his narrow has ended. [ 56 ] Dollah guiding Malaysia to the final examination of the 2014 AFF Championship but failed to replicate the same form as the previous head bus. In international fixtures, the coach has besides recorded a loss of 0–6 to Oman and Palestine a well as 1–1 draw against Timor-Leste. however, the 0–10 frustration to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia worst ever defeat in 50 years, have prompted his resignation as the head coach. [ 57 ] The stead was taken by interim coach Ong Kim Swee who by and by promoted as the drumhead passenger car until the end of March 2017. [ 58 ] The official coaching post then was taken over by portuguese passenger car Nelo Vingada in the hope to raise 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 finally lost the equal with a sexual conquest 1–2. [ 59 ] Malaysia ‘s poor performance however, continued. Despite given high hope and arithmetic mean from the catch against Hong Kong, Malaysia only managed a 1–1 draw, before losing to the lapp team 0–2 in Hong Kong. As for the consequence, frustration happened in the team and Malaysia had suffered two consecutive defeats on the handwriting of North Korea, both ended 1–4. Malaysia besides losing the second final matches against Lebanon in Beirut by 1–2. With lone 1 draw and 5 defeats, Malaysia subsequently eliminated from the reservation. [ 60 ] The coaching position was taken over by the team assistant coach Tan Cheng Hoe in recently 2017 after Vingada stepped down following a bowed stringed instrument of poor results. [ 61 ] After failure to qualify into the 2019 AFC asian Cup, Malaysia proceeded its travel in the 2018 AFF Championship and was grouped with equal Vietnam together with Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Malaysia won the moment invest with three wins and only one passing that was against Vietnam. By qualifying as group runner-up, Malaysia faced Thailand, the ferocious rival in their long-time head to steer records as well the reigning champions in the tournament where they able to overcame the latter by holding them 2–2 in Thailand ‘s home stadium of Bangkok, winning the match by away goals predominate in one of the tournament ‘s greatest shock despite being tied 0–0 earlier at base. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] 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 runner-up for the third base fourth dimension in their AFF Cup history. [ 64 ] 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 growth which brought a promise in future. [ 8 ] [ 65 ] Malaysia participated in 2022 World Cup campaign from the first circle due to poor record previously, but with its beginning adversary was only Timor-Leste, Malaysia well destroyed the timorese 12–2 on aggregate. [ 66 ] There, they joined the moment rung where the team was surprisingly grouped in a group containing 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 pit with full scandal and firm Anti-Malaysian sentiment among Indonesians. [ 67 ] It was followed by an unlucky 1–2 family loss to the UAE, and to add the irony, Malaysia took the lead from early infinitesimal only to see itself being beaten at home plate. [ 68 ] The next confrontation against rival Vietnam in Hanoi, which was the replay of 2018 AFF Championship, ended with another malaysian frustration as the Malay Tigers fell 0–1. [ 69 ] however, Malaysia has not been eliminated as the team can still get an opportunity to qualify further. then, Malaysia managed one of the most celebrated victories in their FIFA World Cup campaign, beating neighbor and regional powerhouse Thailand 2–1 at home to keep its dream alive. [ 70 ] Malaysia boosted its confidence with its victory over Thailand to overcome a demoralized Indonesia, besides at family, 2–0, to occupy second spot behind Vietnam and above Thailand. [ 71 ]
team visualize [edit ]
Media coverage [edit ]
All matches of Malaysia are shown live on Astro Arena ( friendlies, World Cup ( 2nd round merely ), and asian Cup qualifiers ), RTM ( AFF Championship matches ( except 2014 season ), World Cup, and asian Cup qualifiers ), and Media Prima ( AFF Championship matches for 2014 season alone ). All matches are broadcast with both English ( Astro alone ) and malaysian comment. [ 72 ]
Kits [edit ]
Kit provider
Period
Ref
Adidas
1970–2007
Nike
2007–present
[73]
2010 AFF Cup Final 2nd leg kit From the 1970s to 2007, the national team kit was manufactured and sponsored by Adidas. Since 2007, the official Malaysia team kit is manufactured by Nike. The base kit out design of black and yellow stripes is a atavist to the kit used by Malayan national team in the 1920s. The national team of the 1970s besides sported similar stripes, which are supposed to be evocative of the stripes of a tiger. In November 2010, Nike Malaysia created a fresh football kit out specially made for the 2010 AFF Championship. The home kit ‘s design of black and chicken stripes is shaped by a black rowing of lines. The away kit out features a homely blue sky front and crimson and blank at the boundary of the sleeves. Nike used the malaysian flag as their logo alternatively of putting the Football Association of Malaysia logo to remembering the team success in the 1970s. [ 74 ] On the bottom of the flag, the quote “ Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku “ ( The land that I spill my blood for ) can be found. The quotation mark 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 [edit ]
Home Stadium Malaysia ‘s home stadium is the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. The stadium capacity is 87,411 ( seated ) [ 75 ] which makes it the one-eighth largest football stadium in the global. Malaysia ‘s former national stadium was the Merdeka Stadium before the Bukit Jalil sports complex was constructed. Malaysia besides uses other stadiums for their matches such as the Kuala Lumpur Stadium.
Read more: France national football team
Training ground
Wisma FAM is the main headquarters for the Football Association of Malaysia which located at Kelana Jaya, Malaysia. The training adeptness for the Malaysia national football team besides located at the Wisma FAM. Others than that, it besides serves as a meeting point for the coaches and national players. besides equipped with a room for imperativeness argument and small apartment rooms available for the national players during the training camp. sometimes, ticket matches besides sold on this train facility .
Supporters [edit ]
A function of the action from Ultras Malaya during the 2014 AFF Championship second stage final match between Malaysia and Thailand Ultras Malaya is the name of the major supporters for 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 played, they are found in a group standing at the supporters area. The main color for these supporter are normally in black with a scandalmongering scarf and banners just like the national team kits colours. These supporters always bring flares, drums and large national flags to the stadiums. [ 76 ]
According to the web site of Football Association of Malaysia, Malaysia independent sponsors include Telekom Malaysia, Bank Islam, Yakult, Nike, 100plus, One Goal, MYCAT and Malaysia Airlines. [ 77 ]
Rivalries [edit ]
Malaysia draws opponents by and large against Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. These rivalries are rooted from geographic nearness. Indonesia is Malaysia ‘s most heated rival and matches between two teams normally draw bombastic supporters alike. The competition traces its background from the ill-famed Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Due to the strong nationalist sentiments in both sides, the competition has constantly been taken with high priority. [ 78 ] Singapore is Malaysia ‘s merely recent rival. Their competition is by and large rekindled entirely when it comes to the AFF Championship, and is besides less inflame than Malaysia ‘s competition with Indonesia. [ 79 ] Thailand is Malaysia ‘s other traditional rival, with matches between two teams besides draw bombastic supporters alike. Malaysia holds a significant distinction for being undefeated at base to Thailand since 1990s, equally well as having a better neck and neck criminal record, with 41 wins comparing 35 draws and 35 losses. [ 80 ]
Results and fixtures [edit ]
Win Draw Lose
2021 [edit ]
Coaching staff [edit ]
squad [edit ]
stream team [edit ]
- The following 24 players were called up for the 2020 AFF Championship.[85]
- Caps and goals are correct as of 6 December 2021 after the match against Cambodia.[86]
recent call-ups [edit ]
The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for choice .
player records [edit ]
- As of 30 June 2021[2]
- Players in bold are still active with Malaysia.
- This list does not include players who represented Malaya (1948−1962).
competitive read [edit ]
Champion Runners-up Third place Fourth place
FIFA World Cup [edit ]
Olympic Games [edit ]
AFC asian Cup [edit ]
AFF Championship [edit ]
asian Games [edit ]
southeast asian Games [edit ]
- * : 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
all-time record against other nations [edit ]
Last update was against 
Thailand on 15 June 2021.
FIFA ranking [edit ]
Last update was on 19 December 2019. reference : [ 87 ] Worst Ranking Best Ranking Worst Mover Best Mover
Malaysia ‘s FIFA populace rankings
Rank
Year
Games
Played
Won
Lost
Drawn
Best
Worst
Rank
Move
Rank
Move
154
2019
14
10
0
4
154
+9
168
–1
178
2018
8
4
3
1
167
+12
178
–4
174
2017
8
0
6
2
155
+4
174
–12
161
2016
14
4
5
5
156
+9
174
–8
170
2015
11
2
6
3
153
+4
171
–11
154
2014
15
5
7
3
141
+9
156
–8
154
2013
7
1
5
1
154
+4
164
–5
158
2012
16
5
5
6
148
+5
163
–6
148
2011
10
3
4
3
138
+7
155
–6
144
2010
10
4
4
2
139
+3
159
–5
160
2009
8
1
4
3
150
+5
163
–8
156
2008
11
5
3
3
151
+9
170
–6
159
2007
15
3
8
8
149
+7
166
–7
152
2006
6
0
3
3
124
+1
153
–19
123
2005
4
1
3
0
111
+6
123
–7
120
2004
14
5
8
1
114
+4
122
–4
116
2003
7
1
3
3
99
+21
119
–11
128
2002
9
3
4
2
111
+1
128
–6
111
2001
11
3
6
2
105
+3
111
–3
107
2000
24
13
7
4
104
+8
117
–3
117
1999
8
4
4
0
113
+2
118
–3
113
1998
3
0
2
1
88
+3
113
–11
87
1997
14
6
5
3
84
+13
97
–3
96
1996
8
4
1
3
91
+21
112
–10
106
1995
5
1
3
1
94
+14
117
–23
89
1994
5
1
3
8
84
+8
95
–6
79
1993
14
6
5
3
75
+16
79
–2
- Notes
- Table above is a list of all FIFA ‘A’ international matches Malaysia have played against FIFA recognised teams.[88][89][90]
Honours and achievements [edit ]
Continental [edit ]
regional [edit ]
minor [edit ]
See besides [edit ]
Notes [edit ]
- ^[5] Result consider since after the Federation of Malaysia formation on 16 September 1963 .
- ^ Earned malaysian nationality after Malaysia formed on 16 September 1963. Became Singaporean after Singapore separation from Malaysia in 1965 .
References [edit ]
Read more: The MMS Institute Thailand