Malaysia national under-23 football team ( ms, Pasukan bola sepak kebangsaan bawah-23 Malaysia), also known as Malaysia Under-23, Malaysia U-23 or Malaysia Olympic football team is the national
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
in under-23 and 22 level, representing the country at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
,
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
and
Southeast Asian Games
The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...
, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments including the
AFC U-23 Championship
The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, previously the AFC U-22 Championship (in 2013) and AFC U-23 Championship (between 2016 and 2020), is a biennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 ...
.
It is controlled by the
Football Association of Malaysia
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM, ms, Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia responsible for organising the Malaysia national football team within the country. The Football Association of ...
(FAM). The team won the
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
and
2011 SEA Games gold medal.
History
The team is considered to be the feeder team for the
Malaysia national football team
The Malaysia national football team () represents Malaysia in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognised by FIFA as the successor of the defunct Malaya national football ...
. 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 the 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
Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club II (; ms, Kelab Bolasepak Johor Darul Ta'zim II) or simply JDT II is a Malaysian football club based in Johor Bahru, Johor. The club currently plays in the Malaysia Premier League, the second division profess ...
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. 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. 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
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
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. 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. 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
The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...
as one of the four best third-placed teams after a lapse of 32 years.
2011 Southeast Asian Games
In 2011, the team was taken over by
Ong Kim Swee
Ong Kim Swee () is a Malaysian football manager and former footballer, who is the Head coach of Malaysia Super League club Sabah. He spent most of his career playing for East Malaysian teams, notably Sarawak and Sabah during the mid 1990s. Ong ...
. The new coach later arranged two friendly matches against
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in preparation for the
2012 Olympics qualifiers. Malaysia lost narrowly by 1–2 to Thailand but won 2–0 against Singapore.
Malaysia then advanced to the semifinals of the
2011 SEA Games by topping Group A after defeating the host,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
1–0. Then, Malaysia also beat
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
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
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
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.
Summer Olympics Qualification
2012 Summer Olympics Qualification
The team then continued their success by qualifying for the third round of
2012 Olympic Asian Qualifiers after defeating
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in the first round and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
in the second round where they became the sole team from
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
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
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
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
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
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
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
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
, losing to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
in the first match by 1–4 before bouncing back to hold
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
1–1 and defeating
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
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. In their quarterfinal match however, Malaysia lost to
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
by 1–2.
Asian Games
2018 Asian Games
The team then achieved surprising results after being drawn in Group E in the
2018 Asian Games
The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...
together with
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
, defending champion
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
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
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* 18 (film), ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on t ...
such as the famous pair of strikers
Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min ( ko, 손흥민; ; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered one of the best forwards i ...
,
Hwang Hee-chan
Hwang Hee-chan ( ko, 황희찬; born 26 January 1996) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the South Korea national team.
Hwang is nicknamed the "Bull" (''Hwang ...
and their goalkeeper
Jo Hyeon-woo
Jo Hyeon-woo ( ko, 조현우; born 25 September 1991) is a South Korean footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Ulsan Hyundai and the South Korean national team.
Early life
Jo was raised by his mother and father who was a gymnast in Seoul. Jo ...
by 2–1, but the goalkeeper did not play in the match since he was rested. Malaysia's victory against South Korea is their first win against the South Korea in the
Asian Games tournament after 16 years. 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. 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
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
being awarded which was successfully converted by Japanese striker
Ayase Ueda
is a Japanese footballer who plays as a striker for Jupiler Pro League club Cercle Brugge and the Japan national football team.
Youth career
Born in the city of Mito, located in the Ibaraki Prefecture, he began playing football at age 6 and ...
resulting in a 0–1 score until the end of the match.
International scene
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
Norhafiz Zamani bin Misbah (born 15 July 1981) is a Malaysian professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He is a former member of the Malaysia national team. With a calm character and good at controlling the si ...
. 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
The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...
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
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
at the
2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification.
Tournament records
Olympic Games
;Note:
* Since 1992,
football at the Summer Olympics
Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wor ...
changes into Under-23 tournament.
Asian Games
;Note:
* Since 2002,
football at the Asian Games
The men's football tournament has been a regular Asian Games sporting event since the 1951 edition, while the women's tournament began in 1990.
History
The first Asian Games had football tournament.
Since the 2002 Asian Games, age limit for ...
changes into Under-23 tournament.
* * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on
penalty kicks.
AFC U-23 Championship
;Note:
* U-22 in 2012, U-23 since 2015 qualification.
SEA Games
;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
;Note:
* * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on
penalty kicks.
Summer Universiade
;Note:
* In the
2013 edition, Malaysia sent the U-23 team.
* * : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on
penalty kicks.
Recent results and fixtures
2021
;Note:
*
1 : ''Non FIFA 'A' International match''
2022
;Note:
*
1 : ''Non FIFA 'A' International match''
Coaching Staff
Source:
Squad
Current squad
* The following players were called up for the
2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
* Match dates: 1–19 June 2022
* Caps and goals correct as of: 22 May 2022, after the match against
Coaches
*
Chow Kwai Lam (1990–1991)
*
Richard Bate (1992–1994)
*
Claude Le Roy
Claude Le Roy (born 6 February 1948) is a French football manager and former player, who gained prominence at international level as coach to the Senegal and Ghana national teams. He was most recently the manager of the Togo national team.
Ma ...
(1994–1995)
* Hatem Souissi (1997–1999)
*
Allan Harris
Allan Harris (28 December 1942 – 23 November 2017) was a footballer who played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers. His brother Ron was also a professional footballer.
Harris was a full-back and began his career with Chelsea ...
(2000–2004)
*
Bertalan Bicskei (2005)
*
Norizan Bakar
Norizan bin Bakar (born 27 January 1961 in Kampung Datuk Kaya Man, Perlis) is a former Malaysian football player. He currently the Director of Football for Felcra F.C.
Club career
Norizan played for his home state Perlis in semi-pro league ...
(2005–2007)
*
B. Sathianathan (2007–2009)
*
K. Rajagopal (2009–2010)
*
Ong Kim Swee
Ong Kim Swee () is a Malaysian football manager and former footballer, who is the Head coach of Malaysia Super League club Sabah. He spent most of his career playing for East Malaysian teams, notably Sarawak and Sabah during the mid 1990s. Ong ...
(2010–2015; 2017–2019)
*
Frank Bernhardt
Frank Bernhardt (born 26 August 1969) is a German professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Malaysia Super League club Kelantan He managed Estonian Meistriliiga team JK Tallinna Kalev from December 2012 until ...
(2016–2017)
*
Brad Maloney
Brad Maloney (born 19 January 1972) is an Australian soccer coach, currently managing the Australia national under-17 soccer team Australia national under-17 soccer team may refer to:
* Australia men's national under-17 soccer team
* Australi ...
(2021—2022)
*
E. Elavarasan (2022 - present)
Honours
Regional
*
Southeast Asian Games
The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...
** Gold medals (2):
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
and
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
** Silver medal (2):
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
** Bronze medals (2):
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
and
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Others
*
Bangabandhu Cup
The Bangabandhu Cup, also known as the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, is an international football tournament organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) as a tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is the founding father of Bangladesh ...
** Winner (2): 1996/97,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
*
Pestabola Merdeka
Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...
** Winners (2):
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
*
SCTV Cup
** Winner (1): 2012
See also
*
Malaysia national football team
The Malaysia national football team () represents Malaysia in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognised by FIFA as the successor of the defunct Malaya national football ...
*
Malaysia women's national football team
*
Malaysia national under-22 football team
Malaysia national under-22 football team (also known as Malaysia Under-22, Malaysia U-22 or Malaysia B-22) represents Malaysia in international football competitions including in the SEA Games of the 2017 edition. It is managed by the Football ...
*
Malaysia national under-19 football team
Malaysia national under-19 football team (also known as Malaysia Under-19 or Malaysia U-19) represents Malaysia in international football competitions in AFF U-19 Youth Championship, AFC U-19 Championship and FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any ...
*
Malaysia national under-16 football team
The Malaysia national under-16 football team (also known as Malaysia Under-16 or Malaysia U-16) represents Malaysia in international football competitions in AFF U-16 Championship, AFC U-16 Championship and FIFA U-17 World Cup, as well as any o ...
References
External links
Harimau Malaysia (National Olympic Team/U22 Team)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaysia National Under-23 Football Team
Asian national under-23 association football teams
U-23