Malaysia at the AFC Asian Cup

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

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AFC Asian Cup record 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 13 8 0 5 30 18
  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

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Group A

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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'

China  1–1  Malaysia
Wang Jilian   58' Mokhtar Dahari   50'

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

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Group B

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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'

Malaysia  2–0  United Arab Emirates
Abdah   32'
Tukamin   89'

Malaysia  1–1  Qatar
Tukamin  

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

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Group C

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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'
Attendance: 21,155
Referee: Muhsen Basma (Syria)

Uzbekistan  5–0  Malaysia
Shatskikh   10', 89'
Kapadze   30'
Bakayev   45+2' (pen.)
Ibrahimov   85'
Report

Malaysia  0–2  Iran
Report Nekounam   29' (pen.)
Teymourian   77'

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

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Group E

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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



Bahrain  1–0  Malaysia
Report

South Korea  3–3  Malaysia
Report

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

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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

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  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.