The Malaysia national football team represents Malaysia in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognized by FIFA as the successor to the defunct Malaysia national football team, which was founded a month before the Malaysian institution for the 1963 Merdeka tournament. Malaysia Football History.
The Group of 4 Southeast Asian teams has each won the ASEAN Football Championship at least once, with Malaysia winning the bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games in addition to winning away from home. Failed. In three AFC Asian Cups, the team failed to advance beyond the group stage.
Malaysia’s biggest opponents at the international level are geographical neighbors: past matches with Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore, and fixtures involving Indonesia, in particular, have been the most heated in relation to political and social issues. is, which is named ‘Nusantara Derby’.
Early History
Prior to 16 September 1963, North Borneo, Sarawak, Malaya, and Singapore were represented by their own national teams, a situation that preceded the formation of Malaysia. Malaya and Singapore often participated in international competitions such as the Merdeka tournament, while North Borneo and Sarawak participated in the Borneo Cup.
Malaya’s greatest achievement in football was winning the bronze medal at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia after Abdul Ghani Minhat defeated South Vietnam 4–1, then the men’s national team. He was the first Asian player to reach 50 goals.
The first match of the Malaysian football team was on 8 August 1963 at the Merdeka Stadium with the combined power of Singapore and Malaya. With the combined forces of Malaya and Singapore, the team opened against Japan and lost 3–4.
Malaysia Football Team
The team continued to use a combination of players from Singapore and the Malay Peninsula until the formation of the Malaysian team, with the Football Association of Malaysia replacing the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Combination players with Singapore ended when the latter seceded from Malaysia as well as with the formation of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) in 1965 and their subsequent re-affiliation with FIFA.
The difficulties faced by East Malaysia and the players were not well-acquainted with mainstream football in West Malaysia. From 1966 to 1970, Cho Chi Kyung was voted the best Asian goalkeeper by the Asian Football Confederation for 5 consecutive years.
Olympic Tournament
In 1971, Sabah’s James Wong was the first player from East Malaysia to represent the country. Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, defeating Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines along the way. Although they managed to defeat the United States 3–0, they lost their other 2 matches to West Germany 0–3 and Morocco 0–6, finishing 10th in the final standings. Since 1972, Mukhtar Dahiri is considered a legendary football player for the Malaysian team, maintaining his position as one of the best players in Asia.
He managed to score 177 goals, including 177 for Selangor FA, and for his international career, Mukhtar scored a total of 125 goals in 167 appearances for Malaysia. Against national ‘A’ teams of other countries, he scored 89 goals in 142 appearances. This made him the one-time leading scorer in the world for men’s national teams.
Asian Games
Malaysia won their second bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games, defeating North Korea 2–1. The team managed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup twice in a row in 1976 and 1980. It was only in 1977. When FAM sent a talent scout to the East. The list was continued in 1977 by the late James Yacob of Sarawak.
The team also won the Merdeka tournament four times, finished runner-up three times, and finished third twice during the 1970s. Malaysia qualified again for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow but was embroile in a US-led boycott of the Games as the Malaysian government decided to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
In 2009
In April 2009, K. Rajagopal was name the new coach of Malaysia in July 2009. During which he also looked after the Malaysian 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 coach of the Under-23 team, Rajagopal led Malaysia to their fifth SEA Games gold medal and the best of four third-placed teams to qualify for the second round of the 2010 Asian Games. One of the led. A gap of 32 years. Malaysia Football History.
2010 AFF Championship
During the 2010 AFF Championship, a total of 14 Malaysian players were under the age of 23. Placed in Group A and losing the first match 1–5 to hosts Indonesia, Malaysia bounced back by drawing Thailand and beating Laos 5–1. As group runners-up, Malaysia qualified for the semi-finals to face Group B winners and defending champions Vietnam.
In the first leg of the semi-finals, Malaysia won 2–0 on home soil and later drew 0–0 in the second leg, advancing to the final with a 2–0 aggregate score. A chance for revenge opened up in the final as Malaysia faced Indonesia again, unbeaten in all previous matches. Malaysia Football History.
Best Performance
In the first leg of the final at home, Malaysia won 3–0. Malaysia scores twice through Mahfus Sali and once through Mohamed Ashari Shamsuddin on a night. When the Bukit Jalil National Stadium was over the crowd for the first time since it built. The match attracted so many people that after the tickets went on sale. Policemen manning the gates were see allowing friends and relatives into the stadium. Prompting people to crowd over the electronic display. Malaysia Football History.
One had to crawl over the cable bridge, besides standing in corridors and corridors to watch the match. Malaysia lost 1–2 to Indonesia in the second leg of the finals held in Jakarta. But the final was 4–2 to Malaysia on aggregate, thus awarding the title to Malaysia. It was the first time in history that Malaysia was the crown champion of the AFF Championship. And the trophy on the international stage. For more details click here