The Malaysian team had participated in four editions of AFC Asian Cups in their history, the 1976, 1980, 2007 (where Malaysia co-hosted with Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam) and 2023.

Malaysia first appearance in AFC Asian Cup were in the 1976 edition when they first qualified as Group 4 winner of the qualifying round. Malaysia again qualified for 1980 edition, however failed to qualify for the next 6 consecutive editions before being selected as host in 2007 together with Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. However, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup was Malaysia worst performance ever and, as a host nation in the AFC Asian Cup history. After the disastrous poor performance in 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Malaysia failed to qualify again for the 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions.

After 43 years since the 1980 AFC Asian Cup and for the first time since co-hosting the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Malaysia finally returned and qualified on merit for the 2023 edition that were going to be held in Qatar.

Competitive results

AFC Asian Cup Finals record Qualifications record
Host/Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA Round GP W D L GS 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 Did not qualify Group Stage 4 1 1 2 4 5
Thailand 1972 Did not qualify Group Stage 2 2 0 0 4 2
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 4 1 2 1 5 3
Singapore 1984 Did not qualify Group Stage 4 2 1 1 10 3
Qatar 1988 Did not qualify Group Stage 4 1 1 2 4 6
Japan 1992 Did not qualify Group Stage 3 0 2 1 2 6
United Arab Emirates 1996 Did not qualify Group Stage 2 1 1 0 5 2
Lebanon 2000 Did not qualify Group Stage 6 2 1 3 12 13
China 2004 Did not qualify Group Stage 6 1 2 3 9 12
MalaysiaIndonesia
ThailandVietnam
2007		 Group Stage 16th of 16 3 0 0 3 1 12 Qualified as co-host
Qatar 2011 Did not qualify Group Stage 4 0 0 4 2 12
Australia 2015 Did not qualify Group Stage 6 2 1 3 5 7
United Arab Emirates 2019 Did not qualify Third round 5 0 1 4 4 13
Qatar 2023 Qualified Third round 13 8 0 5 30 18
Total Appearance: 3 Best: 5th 9 1 3 5 7 20 - 54 17 14 23 79 87

Iran 1976

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Kuwait 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 4 Advance to Knockout stage
2  China 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
3  Malaysia 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1
Source: RSSSF
Kuwait 2–0 Malaysia
Al-Anberi 10'
Al-Dakhil 42'

Malaysia's inaugural performance at the 1976 Asian Cup is still considered a hard pill to swallow as the Chinese advanced to the last four via on goal difference.[1]

Kuwait 1980

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 4 3 1 0 10 2 +8 7 Advance to Knockout stage
2  Kuwait (H) 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 5
3  Malaysia 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 4
4  Qatar 4 1 1 2 3 8 −5 3
5  United Arab Emirates 4 0 1 3 3 9 −6 1
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts
South Korea 1–1 Malaysia
Choi Soon-ho 69' Zulkifli 90'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Sudarso Hardjowasito (Indonesia)
Kuwait 3–1 Malaysia
Kameel 20'
Yaqoub 53' (pen.), 77' (pen.)		 Zulkifli 44'
Attendance: 20,000

Malaysia's performance at 1980 Asian Cup is still considered today as the finest performance ever of Malaysia despite not advancing to Knockout stage when Soh Chin Ann named into the Team of the Tournament by the AFC, the first Southeast Asian player to receive such honour, a record which would stand until the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[2][3] since then, Malaysia did not qualify for the Asian Cup until 2007.

Indonesia/Malaysia/Thailand/Vietnam 2007

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 Advance to Knockout stage
2  Uzbekistan 3 2 0 1 9 2 +7 6
3  China 3 1 1 1 7 6 +1 4
4  Malaysia (H) 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0
Source:
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

All times are UTC+8.

Malaysia 1–5 China
Indra Putra 74' Report Han Peng 15', 55'
Shao Jiayi 36'
Wang Dong 51', 90+3'
Attendance: 21,155
Referee: Muhsen Basma (Syria)
Uzbekistan 5–0 Malaysia
Shatskikh 10', 89'
Kapadze 30'
Bakayev 45+2' (pen.)
Ibrahimov 85'		 Report
Attendance: 7,137
Malaysia 0–2 Iran
Report Nekounam 29' (pen.)
Teymourian 77'
Attendance: 4,520[4]
Referee: Muhsen Basma (Syria)

Malaysia's performance in 2007 Asian Cup is still remembered as the worst performance ever for a host nation in the Asian Cup. After the tournament, criticisms run high with the defeat of the Malay Tigers, even in the foreign press.[5]

Qatar 2023

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Malaysia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage
4  Bahrain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2024. Source: AFC
Malaysia Match 10 Jordan
Report
Bahrain Match 22 Malaysia
Report
South Korea Match 33 Malaysia
Report

References

  1. ↑ "Moments and Milestones: The 1976 AFC Asian Cup". AFC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "Vote for your best ever AFC Asian Cup defender". AFC. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "Soh Chin Ann: The unforgettable Malaysian football icon". FIFA. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Asian Cup 2007 Results [Malaysia 0–2 Iran]". SportStats.com. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Malaysian malaise in Group C". Agence France-Presse. ABC News. 13 July 2007. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.