Malaysia national football team

Early years (1963–1969)

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

Olympic Tournament and Asia Competition (1970–1980)

In 1971, James Wong of Sabah was the first player from East Malaysia to represent the country.^[15][16] 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.^[17] Although they managed to defeat the United States 3–0,^[18] they lost the other two matches with a score of 0–3 to West Germany and 0–6 to Morocco,^[19][20] ranking 10th in the final standings.^[21]

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.^[22] 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).^[23][24] Against other nations' national 'A' teams, he scored 89 goals in 142 appearances.^[2][25][26] This makes him as one of the world's top scorer for men's national teams at one time.^[27][28]

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) before being overtaken by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo in 2025.^[1][29] Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2–1.^[30] The team went on to qualify twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup, in 1976 and 1980.^[31] It was only in 1977; when the FAM sent a talent scout to the East.^[32][33] 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.^[34] 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.^[35] 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.^[36][37][38]

1976 AFC Asian Cup Group A

More information Team, Pld ...

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

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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

More information Team, Pld ...

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

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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)

In 1994, Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the largest bribery scandals in the country.^[39][40] 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.^[41]

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.^[42]

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.^[43] 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.^[44]

AFF Championship triumph (2010)

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.^[48] Rajagopal's first match was against Zimbabwe, which Malaysia won 4–0.^[49] 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.^[50][51]

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.^[52] 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.^[53]

Stagnation (2011–2022)

Resurgence of Harimau Malaya (2022–2025)

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.^[67] 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.^[68] 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.^[69] Malaysia won 4–0 against Brunei^[70] and 2–0 against Hong Kong,^[71] 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,^[72] suffering a 1–2 loss to Bahrain,^[73] before successfully ending their campaign by defeating Bangladesh with 4–1.^[74] Thus, Malaysia finished second in Group E behind Bahrain and automatically qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup on merit after 42 years.^[75][76] Shortly thereafter, Malaysia's FIFA ranking rose up to 147th from 154th in March 2022.^[77] 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.^[78]

2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round Group E

More information Pos, Pld ...

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

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Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

At the end of 2022, before the start of the 2022 AFF Championship campaign, Malaysia held 2 friendly matches against Cambodia and Maldives,^[79] winning 4–0^[80] and 3–0 respectively.^[81] 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.^[82] In the next match, Malaysia went on to thrash Laos 5–0^[83] but lost 0–3 against Vietnam in a controversial match that led to Azam Azmi's red card.^[84] 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.^[85] 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.^[86] Despite this, Malaysia ended 2022 with astonishing results overall which see them rose up to 145th in FIFA ranking.^[87]

Later in March 2023, Malaysia won again against Turkmenistan with 1–0^[88] and 2–0 against Hong Kong at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor in a series of friendlies.^[89] In June 2023, Malaysia won 4–1 against the Solomon Islands^[90] 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.^[91] 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.^[92]

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.

Falsicfication scandal (2025–2026)

On 26 September 2025, the FAM and seven "Malaysian heritage" players Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui and Héctor Alejandro Hevel Serrano were sanctioned by FIFA after an investigation uncovered falsification and forgery of documents relating to the players' eligibility. The scandal involved attempts to register foreign-born footballers as Malaysian nationals, who played for Malaysia in the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam. FIFA imposed a fine of CHF 350,000 (approximately RM 1.9 million) on FAM, while each player received an individual fine of CHF 2,000 (about RM 10,560) and a 12-month suspension from all football related activities. FAM announced that it would appeal the sanctions.^{[99][100][101]}

On 6 October 2025, FIFA released an official report detailing falsifications concerning the players' eligibility, including the alleged birthplaces of their grandparents. While FAM claimed that the seven players had grandparents born in Malaysia, FIFA discovered that their grandparents had in fact been born in Argentina, Brazil, Spain and the Netherlands. FIFA condemned the act as a deliberate attempt to deceive, describing it as a serious breach of sporting integrity that undermines confidence in fair competition and compromises the fundamental principles of honesty and transparency in football.^[102][103]

On 3 November 2025, the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected FAM's appeal and the sanctions stood.^[104]

As a result of the scandal, on 17 December 2025, FIFA overturned the results of three friendly matches of Malaysia against Cape Verde, Singapore and Palestine into 0–3 defeats.^[105]

On 5 March 2026, CAS dismissed FAM's appeal, while slightly eased the punishments against the players.^[106] On 17 March 2026, the AFC also overturned the results of two matches in the third round qualification of 2027 Asian Cup against Nepal and Vietnam into 0–3 defeats, which resulted in Malaysia failing to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.^[107]

On 18 June 2026, FAM announced that Cklamovski along with his assistants has departed from the national team by mutual consent.^[108]

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.^[109]

Kits

More information Kit provider, Period ...

Kit provider	Period	Ref
none	1963–1974
Adidas	1975–1977	[110]
Umbro	1978	[111]
Adidas	1979–2006	[111]
Nike	2007–2024	[112]
Puma	2025–2028	[113]

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malaysia national football team kits.

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 2025, the official Malaysia team kit has been manufactured by Puma. 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.^[114] 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)^[115] 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.

More information Image, Stadium ...

Malaysia national football team home stadiums
Image	Stadium	Capacity	Location	Last match
	Bukit Jalil National Stadium	87,500	Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur	v     Nepal (18 November 2025; 2027 Asian Cup qualification)
	Kuala Lumpur Stadium	18,000	Cheras, Kuala Lumpur	v   Cape Verde (29 May 2025; Friendly)
	Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium	50,000	Kuala Nerus, Terengganu	v   Papua New Guinea (20 June 2023; Friendly)
	Sultan Ibrahim Stadium	40,000	Iskandar Puteri, Johor	v   Palestine (8 September 2025; Friendly)

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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

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.^[116]

2025

Malaysia  v  Vietnam

10 June 2025 2027 Asian Cup Qualification - Third Round	Malaysia	0–3 Awarded[b]	Vietnam	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
21:00 UTC+8	Figueiredo 49' Holgado 58' Corbin-Ong 67' Cools 88'	Report Report (AFC)		Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Attendance: 61,512 Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Malaysia  v  Singapore

4 September 2025 Friendly	Malaysia	0–3 Awarded[c]	Singapore	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
21:00 UTC+8	Wilkin 27' Figueiredo 54'	Report	Ilhan Fandi 72'	Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Attendance: 22,329 Referee: Ngô Duy Lân (Vietnam)

Malaysia  v  Palestine

8 September 2025 Friendly	Malaysia	0–3 Awarded[d]	Palestine	Johor, Malaysia
21:00 UTC+8	Figueiredo 3'	Report		Stadium: Sultan Ibrahim Stadium Attendance: 7,084 Referee: Yudi Nurcahya (Indonesia)

Laos  v  Malaysia

9 October 2025 2027 Asian Cup Qualification - Third Round	Laos	0–3	Malaysia	Vientiane, Laos
19:00 UTC+7		Report Report (AFC)	Arif 53' Cools 69' Faisal 90+7'	Stadium: New Laos National Stadium Attendance: 5,289 Referee: Wiwat Jumpao-on (Thailand)

Malaysia  v  Laos

14 October 2025 2027 Asian Cup Qualification - Third Round	Malaysia	5–1	Laos	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
21:00 UTC+8	Faisal 59' Morales 65', 70' Khammanh 79' (o.g.) Josué 82'	Report Report (AFC)	Chanthavixay 19'	Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Attendance: 18,901 Referee: Ahmed Eisa Darwish (United Arab Emirates)

Nepal    v  Malaysia

18 November 2025 2027 Asian Cup Qualification - Third Round	Nepal	0–1	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2
21:00 UTC+8		Report	Faisal 56'	Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Attendance: 14,243 Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)

2026

Vietnam  v  Malaysia

31 March 2026 2027 Asian Cup Qualification - Third Round	Vietnam	3–1	Malaysia	Ninh Bình, Vietnam
19:00 UTC+7	Đỗ Duy Mạnh 6' Nguyễn Xuân Son 51', 59'	Report Report (AFC)	Endrick 77' (pen.)	Stadium: Thiên Trường Stadium Attendance: 19,518 Referee: Chae Sang-hyeop (South Korea)

Myanmar  v  Malaysia

25 July 2026 2026 ASEAN Championship Group B	Myanmar	v	Malaysia	Yangon, Myanmar
--:-- UTC+6:30				Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium

Malaysia  v  Laos

28 July 2026 2026 ASEAN Championship Group B	Malaysia	v	Laos	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
--:-- UTC+8				Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium

Thailand  v  Malaysia

1 August 2026 2026 ASEAN Championship Group B	Thailand	v	Malaysia	Bangkok, Thailand
--:-- UTC+7				Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium

Malaysia  v  Philippines

8 August 2026 2026 ASEAN Championship Group B	Malaysia	v	Philippines	Malaysia
--:-- UTC+8

Notes

• ¹ Non FIFA 'A' international match
• ² The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed the venue change after Nepal's proposed stadium failed to meet its requirements. Nepal have confirmed that they will play at Bukit Jalil National Stadium as their home venue.^[121]

Coaching history

As of match played 31 March 2026

More information List of Head Coaches, Name ...

List of Head Coaches
Name	Period	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA	GD	Win %
Peter Velappan	1963
Choo Seng Quee	1963 – 1964[e]	11	3	3	5	23	23	+0	027.27
Otto Westphal	1965 – 1966	12	1	4	7	11	25	−14	008.33
Clement De Silva	1966
Peter Velappan	1966
Nagalingam Rajoo	1967
Dettmar Cramer	1967
Edwin Dutton	1967
Harold Hassall	1968
Peter Velappan	1968
Abdul Ghani Minhat	1969	11	5	2	4	18	18	+0	045.45
Harold Hassall	1970
Dave MacLaren	1970
C. Arasaratnam	1971	39	21	6	12	81	61	+20	053.85
Jalil Che Din	1972	26	13	3	10	41	34	+7	050.00
Tam Sitwa	1973	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	!—
M. Kuppan	1973	27	12	7	8	41	28	+13	044.44
Jalil Che Din	1974	18	8	4	6	35	30	+5	044.44
M. Kuppan	1974 – 1977	82	36	24	22	154	90	+64	043.90
Chow Kwai Lam	1978	22	11	3	8	40	35	+5	050.00
Karl-Heinz Weigang	1979 – 1982	67	21	21	25	96	89	+7	031.34
M. Chandran	1982 – 1983	14	6	1	7	15	17	−2	042.86
Frank Lord	1983 – 1985	37	17	11	9	63	36	+27	045.95
Mohamad Bakar	1985 – 1986	13	4	3	6	17	24	−7	030.77
Jozef Vengloš	1986 – 1987	13	6	3	4	21	13	+8	046.15
Abdul Rahman Ibrahim	1987	10	1	4	5	8	12	−4	010.00
Richard Bate	1988	5	1	2	2	4	10	−6	020.00
M. Chandran	1988	4	1	1	2	4	6	−2	025.00
Trevor Hartley	1989	8	6	0	2	14	5	+9	075.00
Ahmad Shafie	1990	4	0	1	3	0	7	−7	000.00
Rahim Abdullah	1991	6	1	1	4	7	12	−5	016.67
Ken Worden	1992 – 1993	17	5	6	6	26	22	+4	029.41
Claude Le Roy	1994 – 1995	5	1	1	3	6	10	−4	020.00
Hatem Souisi	1995	6	2	1	3	12	8	+4	033.33
Wan Jamak Wan Hassan	1996 – 1997	22	10	6	6	35	18	+17	045.45
Hatem Souisi	1998	4	0	2	2	1	4	−3	000.00
Abdul Rahman Ibrahim	1998 – 2000	29	15	3	11	56	44	+12	051.72
Allan Harris	2001 – 2004	31	7	7	17	38	57	−19	022.58
K. Rajagopal	2004C	4	0	2	2	1	5	−4	000.00
Bertalan Bicskei	2004 – 2005	18	9	1	8	28	27	+1	050.00
Norizan Bakar	2005 – 2007	18	4	5	9	23	28	−5	022.22
B. Sathianathan	2007 – 2008	13	5	4	4	29	19	+10	038.46
K. Rajagopal	2009 – 2013	52	14	15	23	65	76	−11	026.92
Ong Kim Swee (caretaker)	2014	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1	033.33
Dollah Salleh	2014 – 2015	18	4	4	10	19	46	−27	022.22
Ong Kim Swee	2015 – 2017	21	7	6	8	20	27	−7	033.33
Nelo Vingada	2017	7	0	1	6	6	16	−10	000.00
Tan Cheng Hoe	2017 – 2022	40	20	4	16	74	53	+21	050.00
Kim Pan-gon	2022 – 2024	35	19	7	9	74	37	+37	054.29
Pau Martí (caretaker)	2024 – 2025	9	4	3	2	12	13	−1	044.44
Peter Cklamovski	2025 – 2026	9	7	1	1	20	6	+14	077.78
Tan Cheng Hoe (interim)	2026 – present

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Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round against Vietnam on 31 March 2026, respectively.^[124]

Caps and goals are correct as of 1 April 2026, after the match against Vietnam.

More information No., Pos. ...

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Azri Ghani	(1999-04-30) 30 April 1999 (age 27)	2	0	Negeri Sembilan
16	1GK	Syihan Hazmi	(1996-02-22) 22 February 1996 (age 30)	36	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
23	1GK	Haziq Nadzli	(1998-01-06) 6 January 1998 (age 28)	5	0	Kuching City
2	2DF	Matthew Davies (captain)	(1995-02-07) 7 February 1995 (age 31)	60	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
3	2DF	Quentin Cheng	(1999-11-20) 20 November 1999 (age 26)	14	0	Selangor
4	2DF	Daniel Ting	(1992-12-01) 1 December 1992 (age 33)	19	1	Ratchaburi
5	2DF	Ubaidullah Shamsul	(2003-11-30) 30 November 2003 (age 22)	5	0	Terengganu
6	2DF	Dominic Tan	(1997-03-12) 12 March 1997 (age 29)	38	0	Sabah
10	2DF	Zikri Khalili	(2002-06-25) 25 June 2002 (age 24)	0	0	Selangor
12	2DF	Syahmi Safari	(1998-02-05) 5 February 1998 (age 28)	26	1	Johor Darul Ta'zim
18	2DF	Harith Haiqal	(2002-06-22) 22 June 2002 (age 24)	13	1	Selangor
19	2DF	Feroz Baharudin	(2000-04-02) 2 April 2000 (age 26)	5	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
21	2DF	Dion Cools	(1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 (age 30)	38	6	Cerezo Osaka
22	2DF	La'Vere Corbin-Ong	(1991-04-22) 22 April 1991 (age 35)	49	6	Johor Darul Ta'zim
8	3MF	Stuart Wilkin	(1998-03-12) 12 March 1998 (age 28)	33	7	Johor Darul Ta'zim
9	3MF	Ezequiel Agüero	(1994-04-07) 7 April 1994 (age 32)	19	3	Kanchanaburi Power
14	3MF	Endrick	(1995-03-07) 7 March 1995 (age 31)	26	1	Cong An Ho Chi Minh City
15	3MF	Nooa Laine	(2002-11-22) 22 November 2002 (age 23)	20	0	Selangor
20	3MF	Nazmi Faiz	(1994-08-16) 16 August 1994 (age 31)	25	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
7	4FW	Faisal Halim	(1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 28)	41	18	Selangor
11	4FW	Safawi Rasid	(1997-03-05) 5 March 1997 (age 29)	73	22	Kuala Lumpur City
13	4FW	Ramadhan Saifullah	(2000-12-09) 9 December 2000 (age 25)	4	0	Kuching City
17	4FW	Paulo Josué	(1989-03-13) 13 March 1989 (age 37)	29	10	Kuala Lumpur City

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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.

More information Pos., Player ...

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Haziq Aiman	(2005-01-19) 19 January 2005 (age 21)	0	0	Melaka	v.  Vietnam, 31 March 2026 PRE
GK	Sikh Izhan	(2002-03-23) 23 March 2002 (age 24)	1	0	Selangor	v.    Nepal, 18 November 2025
GK	Suhaimi Husin	(1994-08-09) 9 August 1994 (age 31)	0	0	Terengganu	v.  Laos, 14 October 2025
DF	Junior Eldstål	(1991-09-16) 16 September 1991 (age 34)	23	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Vietnam, 31 March 2026 PRE
DF	Declan Lambert	(1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 27)	5	0	Kuala Lumpur City	v.  Vietnam, 31 March 2026 PRE
DF	Azam Azmi	(2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 (age 25)	13	0	Terengganu	v.    Nepal, 18 November 2025
DF	Shahrul Saad	(1993-07-08) 8 July 1993 (age 32)	63	5	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Laos, 14 October 2025
DF	Richard Chin	(2002-10-15) 15 October 2002 (age 23)	1	0	Ross County	v.  Laos, 14 October 2025
DF	Jon Irazabal	(1996-11-28) 28 November 1996 (age 29)	2	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Palestine, 8 September 2025
DF	Gabriel Palmero	(2002-01-15) 15 January 2002 (age 24)	4	0	Free agent	v.  Palestine, 8 September 2025
DF	Facundo Garcés	(1999-09-05) 5 September 1999 (age 26)	2	0	Alavés	v.  Singapore, 4 September 2025
MF	Ryan Lambert	(1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 27)	0	0	Kuala Lumpur City	v.  Vietnam, 31 March 2026 PRE
MF	Aliff Izwan	(2004-02-10) 10 February 2004 (age 22)	1	0	Selangor	v.    Nepal, 18 November 2025
MF	Afiq Fazail	(1994-09-29) 29 September 1994 (age 31)	9	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Laos, 14 October 2025
MF	Hong Wan	(2000-08-17) 17 August 2000 (age 25)	0	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Palestine, 8 September 2025
MF	Hector Hevel	(1996-05-15) 15 May 1996 (age 30)	2	1	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Singapore, 4 September 2025 INJ
FW	Luqman Hakim Shamsudin	(2002-03-05) 5 March 2002 (age 24)	9	0	Negeri Sembilan	v.  Vietnam, 31 March 2026 PRE
FW	Arif Aiman	(2002-05-04) 4 May 2002 (age 24)	40	8	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.    Nepal, 18 November 2025 INJ
FW	Jordan Mintah	(1995-09-02) 2 September 1995 (age 30)	0	0	Kuching City	v.    Nepal 18 November 2025 PRE
FW	Romel Morales	(1997-08-23) 23 August 1997 (age 28)	13	4	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Laos, 14 October 2025
FW	Rodrigo Holgado	(1995-06-28) 28 June 1995 (age 31)	2	1	Coquimbo Unido	v.  Palestine, 8 September 2025
FW	João Figueiredo	(1996-05-27) 27 May 1996 (age 30)	3	3	Johor Darul Ta'zim	v.  Palestine, 8 September 2025
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.

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Most appearances

Top goalscorers

FIFA World Cup

More information [[FIFA World Cup|FIFA World Cup finals]], [[FIFA World Cup qualification|Qualification]] ...

[[FIFA World Cup|FIFA World Cup finals]]										[[FIFA World Cup qualification|Qualification]]
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
as  Malaya										as  Malaya
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958	Did not enter									Did not enter
1962
as Malaysia										as Malaysia
1966	Did not enter									Did not enter
1970
1974	Did not qualify								Round 1	4	1	1	2	2	4
1978									Round 1	4	1	2	1	7	6
1982									Round 1	3	0	1	2	3	8
1986									Round 1	4	2	1	1	6	2
1990									Round 1	6	3	1	2	8	8
1994									Round 1	6	2	2	2	16	7
1998									Round 1	6	3	2	1	5	3
2002									Round 1	6	2	1	3	8	11
2006									Round 2	6	0	0	6	2	18
2010									Round 1	2	0	1	1	1	4
2014									Round 2	4	1	1	2	8	10
2018									Round 2	8	2	0	6	7	29
2022									Round 2	10	6	0	4	22	14
2026									Round 2	6	3	1	2	9	9
2030	To be determined								To be determined
2034
Total	N/A	0/18	0	0	0	0	0	0	Best: Round 2	75	26	14	35	104	133

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Olympic Games

More information [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] record, Qualification record ...

[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1948	See Malaya national football team 1									See Malaya national football team 1
1952
1956
1960
1964	Did not qualify									Preliminary round	1	0	1	1	3	4
1968	Withdrew									Withdrew
1972	Round 1	10th of 16	3	1	0	2	3	9	Group 1 Q	4	4	0	0	12	0
1976	Did not qualify								Group 2	4	2	0	2	17	5
1980	Withdrew B								Group 2 Q	5	4	1	0	21	3
1984	Did not qualify								Second round	12	6	3	3	16	10
1988									First round	2	0	1	1	2	3
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	28	16	6	7	71	25

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AFC Asian Cup

More information [[AFC Asian Cup|AFC Asian Cup]] record, [[AFC Asian Cup qualifiers|Qualification]] record ...

[[AFC Asian Cup|AFC Asian Cup]] record										[[AFC Asian Cup qualifiers|Qualification]] record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956	See Malaya national football team 1									See Malaya national football team 1
1960
1964	Did not qualify									Group stage	3	1	0	2	9	10
1968										Group stage	4	1	1	2	4	5
1972										Group stage	5	4	0	1	15	3
1976	Group stage	5th of 6	2	0	1	1	1	3		Group stage Q	4	3	1	0	6	1
1980	Group stage	6th of 10	4	1	2	1	5	5		Group stage Q	5	2	2	1	8	4
1984	Did not qualify									Group stage	4	2	1	1	10	3
1988										Group stage	4	1	1	2	4	6
1992										Group stage	3	0	2	1	2	6
1996										Group stage	2	1	1	0	5	2
2000										Group stage	6	2	1	3	12	13
2004										Group stage	6	1	2	3	9	12
2007	Group stage	16th of 16	3	0	0	3	1	12		Qualified as co-hosts
2011	Did not qualify									Group stage	4	0	0	4	2	12
2015										Group stage	6	2	1	3	5	7
2019										Third round	14	1	2	11	8	45
2023	Group stage	21st of 24	3	0	1	2	3	8		Third round Q	13	8	0	5	30	18
2027	Did not qualify									Third round
Total	Appearances: 4	Best: 5th	9	1	3	5	7	20		Best: Third round	82	29	15	38	129	147

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ASEAN Championship

More information ASEAN Championship record, Year ...

ASEAN Championship record Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA 1996 3 Runners-up 2nd of 10 6 3 2 1 18 4 1998 3 Group stage 6th of 8 3 0 1 2 0 3 2000 3 Third place 3rd of 9 6 4 1 1 12 4 2002 3 Fourth place 4th of 9 5 2 1 2 9 5 2004 3 Third place 3rd of 10 7 5 0 2 14 9 2007 3 Fourth place 4th of 8 5 1 3 1 6 3 2008 3 Group stage 5th of 8 3 1 0 2 5 6 2010 3 Champions 1st of 8 7 3 2 2 12 8 2012 3 Fourth place 4th of 8 5 2 1 2 7 7 2014 3 Runners-up 2nd of 8 7 3 1 3 13 12 2016 Group stage 5th of 8 3 1 0 2 3 4 2018 Runners-up 2nd of 10 8 3 3 2 11 8 2020 Group stage 6th of 10 4 2 0 2 8 8 2022 Semi-finals 3rd of 10 6 4 0 2 11 7 2024 Group stage 5th of 10 4 1 2 1 5 5 Total Appearances: 15 Best: 1st 79 35 17 27 134 93

ASEAN Championship history First Match Singapore  1–1  Malaysia (1 September 1996; Kallang, Singapore) Last Match Malaysia  0–0  Singapore (20 December 2024; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) Biggest Win Malaysia  7–0  Philippines (4 September 1996; Kallang, Singapore) Biggest Defeat Indonesia  5–1  Malaysia (1 December 2010; Jakarta, Indonesia) Best Result Champions in 2010 Worst Result Group stage in 1998, 2008, 2016, 2020, 2024

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Asian Games

More information Asian Games record C, Year ...

Asian Games record C Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA 1951 See Malaya national football team 1 1954 1958 1962 1966 Group stage 10th of 11 3 0 0 3 1 4 1970 Group stage 10th of 10 3 0 0 3 0 4 1974 Bronze medalists 3rd of 15 7 3 2 2 20 13 1978 Semi-finals 7th of 14 5 2 0 3 4 10 1982 Group stage 14th of 16 3 0 0 3 1 4 1986 15th of 18 3 0 1 2 2 5 1990 12th of 14 2 0 1 1 0 3 1994 11th of 18 4 1 1 2 6 11 1998 Did not enter 2002 – present See Malaysia national under-23 football team 2 Total Appearances: 8 Best: 3rd 30 6 5 19 34 54

Asian Games history First Match Iran  2–0  Malaysia (10 December 1966; Bangkok, Thailand) Last Match Malaysia  1–2  Saudi Arabia (7 October 1994; Hiroshima, Japan) Biggest Win Malaysia  11–0  Philippines (7 September 1974; Tehran, Iran) Biggest Defeat Israel  8–3  Malaysia (3 September 1974; Tehran, Iran) Best Result Bronze medalists in 1974 Worst Result Group stage in 1970

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Southeast Asian Games

More information Southeast Asian Games record C, Year ...

Southeast Asian Games record C Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA 1959 5 See Malaya national football team 1 1961 5 1963 5 Not held 1965 5 Semi-finals 4th of 5 2 0 0 2 0 4 1967 5 Group stage 5th of 5 2 0 0 2 1 6 1969 5 Bronze medalists S 3rd of 5 3 2 0 1 4 5 1971 5 Silver medalists 2nd of 7 5 4 0 1 16 6 1973 5 Bronze medalists 3rd of 6 4 1 2 1 4 2 1975 5 Silver medalists 2nd of 4 3 1 1 1 3 3 1977 Gold medalists 1st of 7 5 4 0 1 24 3 1979 Gold medalists 1st of 5 5 3 2 0 4 0 1981 Silver medalists 2nd of 6 4 1 2 1 4 5 1983 Bronze medalists 3rd of 7 4 1 2 1 7 3 1985 Bronze medalists 3rd of 6 4 2 2 0 10 3 1987 Silver medalists 2nd of 6 4 1 2 1 4 3 1989 Gold medalists 1st of 8 5 5 0 0 11 2 1991 Group stage 5th of 7 3 1 0 2 2 4 1993 5th of 9 4 2 0 2 13 5 1995 7th of 10 4 1 1 2 9 5 1997 7th of 10 4 2 0 2 5 5 1999 5th of 10 4 2 0 2 10 10 2001 – present See Malaysia national under-23 football team 2 Total Appearances: 18 Best: 1st 69 33 14 22 131 74

Southeast Asian Games history First Match Malaysia  0–2  Burma (18 December 1965; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) Last Match Brunei  0–2  Malaysia (6 August 1999; Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei) Biggest Win Malaysia  9–0  Laos (30 July 1993; Singapore) Malaysia  9–0  Cambodia (10 December 1995; Chiang Mai, Thailand) Biggest Defeat Indonesia  6–0  Malaysia (12 August 1999; Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei) Best Result Champions in 1977, 1979, 1989 Worst Result Group stage in 1967

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