Malaysia national under-23 football team

Malaysia Under-23
Nickname(s)Harimau Muda
(Young Tigers)
AssociationFootball Association of Malaysia
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationAFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coachBrad Maloney
Home stadiumBukit Jalil National Stadium
FIFA codeMAS
First colours
Second colours
First international
Malaysia 1–1 Japan 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; December 1990)[1]
Biggest win
Malaysia 11–0 Timor-Leste 
(Vientiane, Laos; 2 December 2009)
Biggest defeat
 Thailand 9–0 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 result Gold Medal (2009, 2011)
Medal record
Malaysia national under-23 football team
Medal record
U-23 SEA Games
2001 Malaysia Team
2003 Vietnam Team
2005 Philippines Team
2009 Laos Team
2011 Indonesia Team
2017 Malaysia Team
Merdeka Tournament
2007 Malaysia Team
2013 Malaysia Team

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, Hatem Souissi. 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

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
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]

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.

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]

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. 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
1992 Did not qualify8413137
1996401316
200083231717
20046015317
2008611449
201210226717
2016Did not qualify and reach best place in 2016 AFC U-23 Championship
2020Did not qualify and reach best place in 2020 AFC U-23 Championship
2024–––––––––––––
2028–––––––––––––
Total Best: 0/7 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 10 8 24 45 73
Note

Asian Games
Asian Games Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
2002Group Stage17/24310236
200630/323003210
2010Round of 1614/24410339
2014Group Stage19/29310246
2018Round of 1612/25420276
Total Best: Round 2 5/5 17 5 0 12 19 37
Note

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
2013See Malaysia national under-22 football teamSee Malaysia national under-22 football team
2016Did not qualify310233
2018Quarter-finals411247320153
2020Did not qualify321062
2022Qualified321020
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
2001 Silver2/95401102
2003 Bronze3/85311178
20053/95302126
2007Group Stage5/8311164
2009 Gold1/96501225
20111/11642093
2013Fourth Place4/106321116
2015Group Stage5/11530277
20171 Silver2/116501115
2019Group Stage8/11411265
2021–––––––
2023–––––––
2025–––––––
TotalBest: Champions10/10513271211151
Note
*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
2005Fourth Place4/85221710
2011CC/DNP
2019Group Stage5/8311133
TotalBest: Fourth Place2/283321013
Note
  • * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Summer Universiade
Summer Universiade Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
2013Eight Place8/155113410
TotalBest: Eight Place1/15113410
Note

Recent results and fixtures


Main article: Malaysia national under-23 football team results

  Win   Draw   Lose

2021
12 October 2021 (2021-10-12) Friendly1 Malaysia  1–2 Negeri Sembilan Subang Jaya, Malaysia
17:00 UTC+8 Azhad  11' Alain  47'
Barathkumar  81'		 Stadium: MBSJ Arena Field
15 October 2021 (2021-10-15) Friendly1 Malaysia  2–1 Penang Subang Jaya, Malaysia
17:00 UTC+8 Syafik  71'
Akif  86'		 Amer  22' Stadium: MBSJ Arena Field
18 October 2021 (2021-10-18) Friendly1 Malaysia  2–0 Kedah Darul Aman Subang Jaya, Malaysia
17:00 UTC+8 Zikri  28'
Azfar  90+1'		 Stadium: MBSJ Arena Field
25 October 2021 (2021-10-25) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Qualifiers Malaysia  1–0  Laos Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
15:00 UTC+8 Azfar  68' Report Stadium: MFF Football Centre
Attendance: 75
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
28 October 2021 (2021-10-28) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Qualifiers Mongolia  0–1  Malaysia Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
11:00 UTC+8 Report Azfar  40' Stadium: MFF Football Centre
Attendance: 482
Referee: Syedvahid Kazemi (Iran)
31 October 2021 (2021-10-31) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Qualifiers Thailand  0–0  Malaysia Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
11:00 UTC+8 Report Stadium: MFF Football Centre
Attendance: 58
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
Note
  • 1 : Non FIFA 'A' International match

Coaching Staff
Position Name Nationality
Team Manager Subahan Kamal  Malaysia
Head Coach Brad Maloney  Australia
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

Current squad

The following 23 players were selected for 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification in Mongolia.[18]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Azri Ghani (1999-04-30) 30 April 1999 0 0 Perak
23 1GK Sikh Izhan Nazrel (2002-03-23) 23 March 2002 0 0 Selangor
22 1GK Syed Nasrulhaq (1999-03-06) 6 March 1999 0 0 Terengganu
14 2DF Zikri Khalili (2002-06-25) 25 June 2002 0 0 Selangor
4 2DF Azrin Afiq (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002 0 0 Selangor II
19 2DF Fahmi Daniel (2002-02-01) 1 February 2002 0 0 Selangor II
3 2DF Faiz Amer (2003-02-15) 15 February 2003 0 0 Selangor II
5 2DF Harith Haikal (2002-06-22) 22 June 2002 0 0 Selangor II
18 2DF Annil Vigneswaran 0 0 SGV Freiberg
16 3MF Umar Hakeem (2002-08-26) 26 August 2002 0 0 Johor Darul Ta'zim II
21 3MF Shafi Azswad (2001-03-09) 9 March 2001 0 0 Johor Darul Ta'zim III
20 3MF Aiman Afif (2001-02-18) 18 February 2001 0 0 Kedah Darul Aman
2 3MF Quentin Cheng (1999-11-20) 20 November 1999 0 0 Penang
7 3MF Mukhairi Ajmal (2001-11-07) 7 November 2001 0 0 Selangor
8 3MF Nik Akif (1999-05-11) 11 May 1999 0 0 Terengganu
6 3MF Azam Azmi (2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 0 0 Terengganu
12 3MF Hairiey Hakim (2000-01-14) 14 January 2000 0 0 Terengganu II
9 4FW Azhad Arman (2003-05-09) 9 May 2003 0 0 FAM-MSN Project
10 4FW Luqman Hakim Shamsudin (2002-03-05) 5 March 2002 0 0 Kortrijk
15 4FW T. Saravanan (2001-02-26) 26 February 2001 0 0 Selangor II
17 4FW Hakimi Abdullah (1999-11-09) 9 November 1999 0 0 Terengganu
13 4FW Azfar Fikri (2000-02-05) 5 February 2000 0 0 Terengganu II
11 4FW Syafik Ismail (2000-03-01) 1 March 2000 0 0 Terengganu II

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. "B-23 2022 DI ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA (25-31 OKTOBER 2021)". FAM.org. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  19. Neil Morrison (1 October 1999). "Bangabandhu Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  20. "Malaysia Beat Indonesia In Clash Of The U23s". ASEAN Football Federation. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
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