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 the latest in 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 held in Qatar.

Overall record

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 13 8 0 5 30 18
Saudi Arabia 2027 To be determined To be determined
Total Appearances:

4

Best: 5th 12 1 4 7 10 28 Best: Third round 82 29 15 38 129 147

Iran 1976

Main article: 1976 AFC Asian Cup

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'
Reza Pahlavi Stadium, Tabriz
China 1–1 Malaysia
Wang Jilian 58' Mokhtar Dahari 50'
Reza Pahlavi Stadium, Tabriz

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

Main article: 1980 AFC Asian Cup

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'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Sudarso Hardjowasito (Indonesia)
Kuwait 3–1 Malaysia
Kameel 20'
Yaqoub 53' (pen.), 77' (pen.)		 Zulkifli 44'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Attendance: 20,000
Malaysia 2–0 United Arab Emirates
Abdah 32'
Tukamin 89'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Malaysia 1–1 Qatar
Tukamin
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City

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

Main article: 2007 AFC Asian Cup

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: [1]
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'
Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
Attendance: 21,155
Referee: Muhsen Basma (Syria)
Uzbekistan 5–0 Malaysia
Shatskikh 10', 89'
Kapadze 30'
Bakayev 45+2' (pen.)
Ibrahimov 85'		 Report
Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
Attendance: 7,137
Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)
Malaysia 0–2 Iran
Report Nekounam 29' (pen.)
Teymourian 77'
Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
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 when the team did not manage to collect any single point with conceded the most goals. After the tournament, criticisms run high with the defeat of the Malay Tigers, even in the foreign press.[5]

Qatar 2023

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Group E

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group E
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bahrain 3 2 0 1 3 3 0 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  South Korea 3 1 2 0 8 6 +2 5
3  Jordan 3 1 1 1 6 3 +3 4
4  Malaysia 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 1
Source: AFC
Malaysia 0–4 Jordan
Report
Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Attendance: 20,410
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)


Bahrain 1–0 Malaysia
 Report
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Attendance: 10,386
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
South Korea 3–3 Malaysia
 Report
Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Attendance: 30,117
Referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)

Malaysia's performance in 2023 Asian Cup is currently remembered as the better performance than previous 2007 Asian Cup edition when the team managed to collect one point through the monumental 3−3 drawn against the powerhouse South Korea and Faisal Halim first goal has been picked by fans as the 2023 Asian Cup best goal.[6][7]

Goalscorers

Player Goals 1976 1980 2007 2023
Tukamin Bahari 2 2
Zulkifli Hamzah 2 2
Mokhtar Dahari 1 1
Abdah Alif 1 1
Indra Putra Mahayuddin 1 1
Arif Aiman 1 1
Faisal Halim 1 1
Romel Morales 1 1
Total 10 1 5 1 3

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.
  6. ^ "Malaysia save their best for last to claim monumental draw against powerhouses South Korea". Gabriel Tan. ESPN. 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Faisal beats Asian rivals by a mile for Best Goal award". NST. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
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