Malaysia national under-23 football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Malaysia Under-23
Nickname(s)Harimau Muda
(Young Tigers)
AssociationFootball Association of Malaysia
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationAFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coachVacant
Home stadiumBukit Jalil National Stadium
FIFA codeMAS
First colours
Second colours
First international
Malaysia Malaysia 1–1 Japan 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; December 1990)[1]
Biggest win
Malaysia Malaysia 11–0 Timor-Leste 
(Vientiane, Laos; 2 December 2009)
Biggest defeat
 Thailand 9–0 Malaysia Malaysia
(Bangkok, Thailand; November 1998)
Asian Games
Appearances4 (first in 2002)
Best resultRound of 16 (2010, 2018)
AFC U-23 Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2018)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2018)
Southeast Asian Games
Appearances9 (first in 2001)
Best resultGold medal icon (G initial).svg Gold Medal (2009, 2011)
Medal record

Malaysia national under-23 football team (Malay: Pasukan bola sepak kebangsaan bawah-23 Malaysia), also known as Malaysia Under-23, Malaysia U-23 or Malaysia Olympic football team) is the national team for the under-23 and 22 level, representing Malaysia in the Olympic Games, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments including the AFC U-23 Championship.

It is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The team won the 2009 and 2011 SEA Games gold medal.

History[]

The team is considered to be the feeder team for the Malaysia national football team. It is for players aged 23 and less, however 3 senior players can also be selected to play. Also in existence are national teams for Under-20s, Under-17s and Under-15s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, hence it is possible for one to play for the U-23s, senior side and then again for the U-23s.

Olympic 2000[]

After the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, FAM was aiming to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympic. Thus, the FAM spent about US$6 million and continued the contract of Malaysian youth team coach, . Then FAM formed a squad known as Olympic 2000 with a combination of 1997 youth squad and other under 23 players. FAM decided to include Olympic 2000 as one of the teams in Malaysia League. Their first match was against Johor FA in a qualification match for Malaysia Premier I League. The team won their first match away 1–0 before drawing 1–1 at home to qualify for Malaysia Premier I League. However the team finished bottom during the 1998 season with only 4 wins in 22 matches.[2] The Olympic 2000 also showed poor performance at the international stage. They were humiliated by the Thailand Asian Games squad in a 1998 friendly match as the Thais beat them 9–0. During the qualification matches, Olympic 2000 only managed to finish third behind Hong Kong and Japan. It was questioned among fans how a squad that had been playing together since 1995 with fine talents and given so much exposure cannot achieve expectations.

Disbandment of Harimau Muda[]

After Harimau Muda project disbanded, FAM needed a fresh start for the U-23 team where a new set of players was brought in for the team with the creation of SEA Games Project 2017 team.[3] The players in the team mainly consisted of players with ages around 18 to 21 years old where the oldest players will be below the age requirement of 22 years old when 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia started. With a bigger pool of players within age of 18-22, the players in the team will also play in other age-restricted tournament as the younger side such as U-21 and U-22 when needed.

Revival of the team[]

Southeast Asian Games[]

2009 Southeast Asian Games[]

Main article: Football at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games

In July 2009, K. Rajagopal was named as the new coach of the Malaysia U-23 team. Under his management, Malaysia qualified for the semifinals of the 2009 SEA Games after becoming the runners-up of Group A with only one point behind the group champion, Vietnam. Malaysia then defeated Laos 3–1 in the semifinals, before meeting Vietnam again and defeating them 1–0 in the final with an own goal scored by Mai Xuân Hợp in 85th minute.[4] This was to be their fifth SEA Games gold medal and also the first great achievement for the U-23 team under Rajagopal who also led Malaysia to qualify for the second round of the 2010 Asian Games as one of the four best third-placed teams after a lapse of 32 years.[5]

2011 Southeast Asian Games[]

Main article: Football at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games

Soccer Field Transparant.svg

Malaysia
Fahmi
Malaysia
Zubir
Malaysia
Fadhli
Malaysia
Mahali
Malaysia
Asraruddin
Malaysia
Muslim
Malaysia
Gurusamy
Malaysia
Irfan
Malaysia
Fakri
Malaysia
Thamil
2011 SEA Games winners final starting line-up.[6]

In 2011, the team was taken over by Ong Kim Swee. The new coach later arranged two friendly matches against Thailand and Singapore in preparation for the 2012 Olympics qualifiers. Malaysia lost narrowly by 1–2 to Thailand[7] but won 2–0 against Singapore.[8]

Malaysia then advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 SEA Games by topping Group A after defeating the host, Indonesia 1–0. Then, Malaysia also beat Myanmar 1–0 in the semifinals to advance to the final. In the final, they met Indonesia again and held them to a 1–1 draw until the end, resulting in a penalty shoot-out which Malaysia won 4–3. This was also the sixth SEA Games football gold medal led by Ong Kim Swee after the successful achievement in 2009.[9]

Summer Olympics Qualification[]

2012 Summer Olympics Qualification[]

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's Asian Qualifiers

The team then continued their success by qualifying for the third round of 2012 Olympic Asian Qualifiers after defeating Pakistan in the first round and Lebanon in the second round where they became the sole team from Southeast Asia to qualify for the third round. However, in the third round, Malaysia lost all of their first three third round matches at the 2012 Olympic Asian qualifying matches, losing 0–2 to both Japan and Syria and 2–3 to Bahrain. Malaysia also lost their second three third round matches and was subsequently eliminated.

AFC U-23 Championship[]

2018 AFC U-23 Championship[]

Main articles: 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification and 2018 AFC U-23 Championship

Several years after the revival, the team made another debut to pass the AFC U-23 qualification in 2018. Positioned in Group H, the team managed to defeat Indonesia by a score of 3–0 while suffering a similar score defeat to Thailand in the second match, the team subsequently bounced back and defeated Mongolia by 2–0. By leading the group, Malaysia was able to qualify for the AFC U-23 Championship. The team was then placed in Group C, losing to Iraq in the first match by 1–4 before bouncing back to hold Jordan 1–1 and defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0, to end up as the group runner-up and subsequently became the first Southeast Asian representatives alongside Vietnam to qualify for the quarterfinal of the tournament for the first time in both teams' history.[10] In their quarterfinal match however, Malaysia lost to South Korea by 1–2.[11]

Asian Games[]

2018 Asian Games[]

Main article: Football at the 2018 Asian Games – Men's tournament

The team then achieved surprising results after being drawn in Group E in the 2018 Asian Games together with Kyrgyzstan, defending champion South Korea and Bahrain. Malaysia opened their group matches with a 3–1 victory against Kyrgyzstan before defeating the tournament favourites South Korea that was led by their 2018 FIFA World Cup players such as the famous pair of strikers Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan and their goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo by 2–1, but the goalkeeper did not play in the match since he was rested.[12] Malaysia's victory against South Korea is their first win against the South Korea in the Asian Games tournament after 16 years.[13] With expectations running high from the fans and rising, the team however failed to continue their success after losing to Bahrain by 2–3 after already having qualified for the second round and leading the group.[14][15] The team then met Japan and was eliminated from the tournament after their players wasted attacking opportunities by playing cautiously in addition to their defensive mistakes in the 90th minute that subsequently gave the advantage to their opponents with a penalty kick being awarded which was successfully converted by Japanese striker Ayase Ueda resulting in a 0–1 score until the end of the match.[16][17]

International scene[]

Further information: Malaysia national football team

In 2009, the Malaysian team started using the same squad for their under-23 team and senior team under the new management of coach K. Rajagopal. The senior team uses players below the age of 23, together with their senior players like Safee Sali and Norhafiz Zamani Misbah. This was set for the national team to prepare for the challenges ahead of them. Since then, Malaysia also used some of their under-23 players for other tournaments such as the Ho Chi Minh City Cup, 2010 Asian Games and 2010 AFF Championship. Malaysia followed this practice since the Football Association of Malaysia chairman, HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah, planned this and set it mainly for Rajagopal.[citation needed] This is as a result of the humiliating loss of the senior team by 0–5 to the United Arab Emirates at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

Tournament records[]

Olympic Games[]

Olympic Games Record Olympic qualification Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA Pld W D L GF GA
Spain 1992 Did not qualify 8 4 1 3 13 7
United States 1996 4 0 1 3 1 6
Australia 2000 8 3 2 3 17 17
Greece 2004 6 0 1 5 3 17
China 2008 6 1 1 4 4 9
United Kingdom 2012 10 2 2 6 7 17
Brazil 2016 Did not qualify and reach best place in 2016 AFC U-23 Championship
Japan 2020 Did not qualify and reach best place in 2020 AFC U-23 Championship
France 2024 [to be determined] – – – – – – – – – – – – –
United States 2028 [to be determined] – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Total Best: 0/7 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 10 8 24 45 73
Note
  • Since 1992, football at the Summer Olympics changes into Under-23 tournament.

Asian Games[]

Asian Games Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
South Korea 2002 Group Stage 17/24 3 1 0 2 3 6
Qatar 2006 30/32 3 0 0 3 2 10
China 2010 Round of 16 14/24 4 1 0 3 3 9
South Korea 2014 Group Stage 19/29 3 1 0 2 4 6
Indonesia 2018 Round of 16 12/25 4 2 0 2 7 6
Total Best: Round 2 5/5 17 5 0 12 19 37
Note
  • Since 2002, football at the Asian Games changes into Under-23 tournament.
  • * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

AFC U-23 Championship[]

AFC U-23 Championship Record AFC U-23 qualification Record
Year Round GP W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Oman 2013 See Malaysia national under-22 football team See Malaysia national under-22 football team
Qatar 2016 Did not qualify 3 1 0 2 3 3
China 2018 Quarter-finals 4 1 1 2 4 7 3 2 0 1 5 3
Thailand 2020 Did not qualify 3 2 1 0 6 2
Uzbekistan 2022 To be determined 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Best: Quarter-finals 4 1 1 2 4 7 9 5 1 3 14 8
Note
  • U-22 in 2012, U-23 since 2015 qualification.

SEA Games[]

SEA Games Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Malaysia 2001  Silver 2/9 5 4 0 1 10 2
Vietnam 2003  Bronze 3/8 5 3 1 1 17 8
Philippines 2005 3/9 5 3 0 2 12 6
Thailand 2007 Group Stage 5/8 3 1 1 1 6 4
Laos 2009  Gold 1/9 6 5 0 1 22 5
Indonesia 2011 1/11 6 4 2 0 9 3
Myanmar 2013 Fourth Place 4/10 6 3 2 1 11 6
Singapore 2015 Group Stage 5/11 5 3 0 2 7 7
Malaysia 20171  Silver 2/11 6 5 0 1 11 5
Philippines 2019 Group Stage 8/11 4 1 1 2 6 5
Vietnam 2021 [to be determined] – – – – – – –
Cambodia 2023 [to be determined] – – – – – – –
Thailand 2025 [to be determined] – – – – – – –
Total Best: Champions 10/10 51 32 7 12 111 51
Note
  • 1 : The under-22 national team played at the 2017 edition.
  • * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
  • ** : Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
*Win on penalty kicks.
**Loss on penalty kicks.

ASEAN U-23[]

AFF U-23 Youth Championship Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Thailand 2005 Fourth Place 4/8 5 2 2 1 7 10
Indonesia 2011 CC/DNP
Cambodia 2019 Group Stage 5/8 3 1 1 1 3 3
Total Best: Fourth Place 2/2 8 3 3 2 10 13
Note
  • * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Summer Universiade[]

Summer Universiade Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Russia 2013 Eight Place 8/15 5 1 1 3 4 10
Total Best: Eight Place 1/1 5 1 1 3 4 10
Note
  • In the 2013 edition, Malaysia sent the U-23 team.
  • * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Recent results and fixtures[]

Main article: Malaysia national under-23 football team results

  Win   Draw   Lose

2021[]

27 October 2021 (2021-10-27) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Qualifiers Malaysia  v  Laos TBD, Mongolia
Stadium: TBD
29 October 2021 (2021-10-29) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Qualifiers Mongolia  v  Malaysia TBD, Mongolia
Stadium: TBD
31 October 2021 (2021-10-31) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Qualifiers Thailand  v  Malaysia TBD, Mongolia
Stadium: TBD
Note
  • 1 : Non FIFA 'A' International match

Coaching Staff[]

Position Name Nationality
Team Manager Subahan Kamal  Malaysia
Head Coach Vacant
Assistant Coach Khan Hung Meng  Malaysia
Fitness Coach Martin Stano  Slovakia
Goalkeeping Coach Yong Wai Hwang  Malaysia
Physiotherapist Harris Zafran Ahmad Haraman  Malaysia
Team Doctor Ridzuan Azmi  Malaysia
Masseur Ahmad Ramzi Ahmad Zaini  Malaysia
Video Analyst Ahmad Hilmi Abdul Latif  Malaysia
Nutritionist Norazmi Ramliy  Malaysia
Kitman Sukri Haimi  Malaysia
Media Officer Wan Mohd Fakhrul Anwar Wan Bakar  Malaysia
Team Administrator Azfendy Azzudin  Malaysia

Squad[]

Recent call-ups[]

The callups name will be announce in September 2021 centralize training ahead of 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification in Mongolia.

Coaches[]

Honours[]

Regional[]

Others[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Hyung-Jin Yoon (6 May 2006). "Japan - International Results U-23 (Olympic) Team [Malaysia (1) – Japan (1)]". RDFC. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. ^ Mikael Jönsson (19 June 2003). "Malaysia 1997". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  3. ^ Nik Afiq (25 November 2015). "FAM Terminates Harimau Muda Program". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Malaysia Down Vietnam To Win SEA Games Gold Medal". Goal.com. 17 December 2009. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Malaysia enter last 16 but crippled by injuries and suspensions". The Star. 14 November 2010. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  6. ^ Indonesia vs Malaysia Full Match 1-1 (4-5) Final Sea Games 2011 part 1 on YouTube. (See 05:15 for the player position) Retrieved on 10 December 2012.
  7. ^ International friendly match Pre-olympic Thailand 2- Malaysia 1 on YouTube. Retrieved on 29 March 2016.
  8. ^ malaysia vs singapore (2-0) international friendly all goals 12-06-12 on YouTube. Retrieved on 29 March 2016.
  9. ^ Les Tan (21 November 2011). "SEA Games Football: Malaysia beat Indonesia 4-3 on penalties to win gold". Red Sports. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Malaysia stun Saudi Arabia to take quarter-final spot". Gulf Times. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
     • Vijhay Vick (16 January 2018). "Debutants Malaysia make history, stunning Saudi Arabia to reach AFC U23 quarters". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
     • Gabriel Tan (18 January 2018). "Malaysia, Vietnam surprise at AFC U-23 while Thailand falter". Fox Sports Asia. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  11. ^ Gabriel Tan (20 January 2018). "AFC U-23 Championship: Malaysia's brave run ended by Korea". Fox Sports Asia. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. ^ Aftar Singh (16 August 2018). "A smooth- sailing day Malaysia beat Kyrgyzstan in opener". The Star. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
     • John Pye (17 August 2018). "Son feels ashamed after South Korea's upset loss to Malaysia". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
     • "S. Korea suffer shocking defeat to Malaysia in men's football". Yonhap News Agency. The Korea Times. 18 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
     • David Lee (18 August 2018). "Asian Games: Malaysia's Under-23 football team shock Son Heung-min's South Korea to qualify for round of 16". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
     • "South Korea's hopes hit by goalkeeper injury". TNP. 27 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018. Song played in their 2-1 loss to Malaysia in their final group match, when Jo was rested.
  13. ^ "Malaysian defence faces stiff test against South Korea". The Star. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018. Malaysia have never beaten South Korea in the Asian Games over the last 16 years.
  14. ^ "Asian Games: Bahrain survive Malaysia scare". Gulf Digital News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  15. ^ Gabriel Tan (20 August 2018). "Asian Games 2018: Malaysia lose to Bahrain but still finish top". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  16. ^ Ooi Kin Fai (24 August 2018). "Poor finishing costly lesson for Malaysia". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  17. ^ Gabriel Tan (24 August 2018). "Asian Games 2018: Malaysia suffer late heartbreak against Japan". Fox Sports Asia. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  18. ^ Neil Morrison (1 October 1999). "Bangabandhu Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Malaysia Beat Indonesia In Clash Of The U23s". ASEAN Football Federation. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2012.

External links[]

Preceded by
2007 Thailand  		SEA Games Champions
2009 (First title for U-23)
2011 (Second title for U-23) 		Succeeded by
2013 Thailand 
Retrieved from ""