Malaysia

Prior to 16 September 1963, North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore were represented by their own national teams, a situation which pre-dated the establishment of Malaysia. Malaya and Singapore often competed in international competitions such as the Merdeka Tournament while North Borneo and Sarawak competed in Borneo Cup. Malaya's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist of the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia after defeating South Vietnam 4–1 led by Abdul Ghani Minhat, who at that time was the first Asian player to reach 50 goals for the men's national teams.

The beginning of the Malaysian football team match took place in Merdeka Stadium on 8 August 1963 with the combined strength of Singapore and Malaya (although the federation only existed after 16 September 1963). With the combined forces of Malaya and Singapore, the team began by facing Japan, and lost 3–4. The team continued to use a combination of players from Singapore and Malay Peninsula until the formation of the Malaysia team, wherein the Football Association of Malaya was succeeded by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The combination players with Singapore ended when the latter separated from Malaysia along with the establishment of Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and their subsequent reaffiliation with FIFA in 1965. Since then the squad was only represented by West Malaysian players, mainly due to travel time difficulties to East Malaysia and the players were not well known to the mainstream West Malaysian football. From 1966 to 1970, Chow Chee Keong was voted by Asian Football Confederation as the best Asian's goalkeeper for 5 straight years.

In 1971, James Wong of Sabah was the first player from East Malaysia to represent the country. Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, beating Japan 3–0, South Korea 1–0, Taiwan 3–0 and the Philippines 5–0 along the way. Although they managed to defeat the United States 3–0, they lost the other two matches with a score of 0–3 to West Germany and 0–6 to Morocco, ranking 10th in the final standings.

Since 1972, Mokhtar Dahari has been considered a legendary football player for the Malaysian team maintaining his place as one of the best players in Asia. He manage to score a total of 125 goals in 167 appearances for Malaysia (including matches played against club sides, national 'B' teams and selection teams). Against other nations' national 'A' teams, he scored 89 goals in 142 appearances. This makes him as one of the world's top scorer for men's national teams at one time.

Together with the record of Soh Chin Ann. According to both RSSSF and IFFHS, Soh is the player with the most international caps in men's football and become the first men's footballers to reach 200 or more international caps (219) before being overtaken by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo in 2025. Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2–1. The team went on to qualify twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup, in 1976 and 1980. It was only in 1977; when the FAM sent a talent scout to the East. The list continued by the late James Yaakub of Sarawak in 1977. The team also won the Merdeka Tournament four times, became runner-up three times and achieved third place twice during the 1970s. Malaysia qualified again for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, beating Indonesia 6–1, South Korea 3–0, Brunei 3–1, Philippines 8–0 and tied with Japan 1–1. Thus, the team meet South Korea in the play-off match. Malaysia won the play-off against South Korea with a 2–1 scored in the Merdeka Stadium and qualified but joined the US-led boycott of the games as the Malaysian government made a decision to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.

Malaysia participated the 1976 AFC Asian Cup for the first time, meeting Kuwait and China in Group A. During the tournament, Malaysia came in third place in the group, losing 0–2 to Kuwait in the opening match and drew 1–1 with China in the second match.

Malaysia made its second Asian Cup appearance in 1980, placed in Group B alongside South Korea, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. They managed to hold South Korea 1–1 in the first match, but would lose 1–3 to Kuwait before regaining a 2–0 victory against the United Arab Emirates. Malaysia would eventually finish 3rd after holding Qatar 1–1 in their last match.

In 1994, Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the largest bribery scandals in the country. With the dearth of mainstream interest and lack of funds, Malaysian football has failed to repeat the performances of the 1970s and 1980s to qualify into major tournaments, despite the recruitment of Claude LeRoy. Allan Harris appointed as a new head coach in 2001. Harris came with strong credentials, having assisted Terry Venables at FC Barcelona. In the second half of 2004, FAM appoint Bertalan Bicskei, former Hungarian goalkeeper and national coach, to succeed Allan Harris. Bicskei led the national side to third place at the regional Tiger Cup tournament, but was demoted to youth development duties by FAM for his actions during a friendly against Singapore in Penang on 8 June 2005. Bicskei, disgusted by the standard of officiating, threw a bottle onto the pitch before confronting a Singapore player. In September 2005, his contract was terminated after a mutual agreement.

Norizan Bakar became the next head coach of the Malaysian team. He guided the Malaysian squad to the 2007 AFF Championship semifinals in 2007, where Malaysia lost through penalties to Singapore. Norizan's position as the head coach was criticised by the Malaysian football community, fans and officials alike, after the team's performances during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup as co-host of the edition, where Malaysia lost to China 1–5, Uzbekistan 0–5 and Iran 0–2. After the removal of Norizan Bakar, B. Sathianathan took over as head coach. Although he guided the squad to win the 2007 Merdeka Tournament, Malaysia once again failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing 1–4 and drawing 0–0 with Bahrain in the qualifying round. In March 2008, Sathianathan once again reached the final of the Merdeka Tournament. However, Malaysia lost on penalties to Vietnam. Sathianathan also led Malaysia to the semi-finals of the 2008 Myanmar Grand Royal Challenge Cup. However, Malaysia then shockingly lost 1–4 to the eventual winners, Myanmar.

During the 2008 AFF Championship, Malaysia started their campaign with a 3–0 win over Laos but were defeated in the second match by Vietnam with a score of 2–3 and were finally eliminated when they lost 0–3 to Thailand in the final match of the group stage. This was the first time that the Malaysian squad had not passed through the group stages in 12 years. There were also reports that match-fixing and bribery that infiltrated Malaysian football in 1994 have returned. In the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Malaysian team lost 0–5 to the United Arab Emirates. This defeat was the final straw in the eyes of Malaysian supporters, and in February 2009, the contracts of Sathianathan and manager Soh Chin Ann were terminated.

In July 2003, Malaysia qualified for the 2003 FA Premier League Asia Cup as the host nation and as the only national team to ever do so, and on 24 July 2003, they lost 1–4 against Chelsea in the semi-finals in a match where Hairuddin Omar scored Malaysia's only goal of the tournament to bring the match to 1–1. In the third-place playoff on 26 July 2003, they lost 0–4 against Birmingham City and placed fourth in the tournament.

Malaysia were placed in the 6th group in the qualifying, alongside with teams such as Iraq, Bahrain & Myanmar. The Malaysian national team drew with Iraq 0–0, before smashing Myanmar with 4 to nil goals. Malaysia later scored 2 goals against Bahrain in the last 10 minutes, securing them 5 points.

However, disappointment would strike as they bombed their next matches in Manama, Bahrain. Malaysia failed to score points there, losing 5–1 to Iraq, 3–1 to Bahrain & 2–1 to Myanmar. Thus, Malaysia failed to qualify for 2004 AFC Asian Cup, sitting at the 3rd place with 1 win, 2 draws & 3 losses. The Malaysian media & fans reacted how the Malaysian team could lose with such a humiliating result outside Malaysia, similar to the 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification, when they bombed their second leg matches against Thailand, North Korea & Taiwan.

In April 2009, K. Rajagopal was named the new coach of Malaysia replacing B. Sathianathan and took over the position in July 2009, of which he also looked after the Malaysia under-23 squad. Rajagopal's first match was against Zimbabwe, which Malaysia won 4–0. Rajagopal also coached Malaysia in two games against visiting English champions, Manchester United, losing both matches 2–3 and 0–2. During his time as the coach of the Under-23 team, Rajagopal led Malaysia to their fifth SEA Games gold medal and also led Malaysia to qualify for the second round of the 2010 Asian Games as one of the best four third-placed teams after a lapse of 32 years.

During the 2010 AFF Championship, a total of 14 Malaysia's players were under the age of 23. Placed in group A and lost the first match to host Indonesia 1–5, Malaysia bounced back from defeat drawing Thailand and beating Laos 5–1. As runner up of group, Malaysia qualified for the semi-finals to meet Group B winners and defending champions Vietnam. In the first leg of the semifinal, Malaysia won 2–0 on home soil and later drew 0–0 in the second leg, advancing to the final with an aggregate of 2–0. An opportunity of revenge opened up in the finals as Malaysia again met Indonesia, who were unbeaten in all previous matches.

On the first leg of the finals at home, Malaysia won 3–0. Malaysia scored twice through Safee Sali and once through Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin on a night when Bukit Jalil National Stadium was filled over capacity for the first time since it was built. The match attracted so many people that after tickets were sold out, policemen manning the gates were seen allowing friends and relatives into the stadium, causing people to trespass onto the cable bridge above the electronic display besides standing on the aisles and corridors to view the game. On the second leg of the finals that was held in Jakarta, Malaysia lost 1–2 to Indonesia but the final aggregate was 4–2 to Malaysia, thus Malaysia were awarded the title. It was the first time in history that Malaysia were crowned the champions of AFF Championship and a trophy in the international stage.

During the 2010s, the Malaysian national team underwent several coaching changes but struggled to achieve consistent success in international competitions.

In July 2014, Dollah Salleh replaced K. Rajagopal as head coach. Under Dollah's leadership, Malaysia reached the final of the 2014 AFF Championship, though the team failed to match its 2010 tournament victory. Subsequent matches saw uneven performances, including:

• Heavy defeats to Oman (0–6) and Palestine (0–6)
• A 1–1 draw against Timor-Leste
• A record 0–10 loss to the United Arab Emirates in September 2015, after which Dollah resigned.

Ong Kim Swee served as interim coach from September 2015 until March 2017, when Portuguese manager Nelo Vingada was appointed. Vingada's tenure saw disappointing results in 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification:

• A 1–2 loss to Lebanon despite leading 1–0 at halftime
• A 1–1 draw and subsequent 0–2 loss to Hong Kong
• Two 1–4 defeats against North Korea
• Elimination with 1 draw and 5 losses in the qualifying group

Vingada resigned in late 2017 and was replaced by assistant coach Tan Cheng Hoe.

Following their failure to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Malaysia competed in the 2018 AFF Championship, being drawn in Group A alongside Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. The team advanced as group runners-up with three victories and one defeat (against Vietnam).

In the semifinals, Malaysia faced reigning champions Thailand:

• First leg: 0–0 draw at home
• Second leg: 2–2 draw in Bangkok, advancing on the away goals rule

The final against Vietnam saw:

• First leg: 2–2 draw in Malaysia
• Second leg: 0–1 loss in Hanoi
• Aggregate 2–3 defeat, marking Malaysia's third runners-up finish in the tournament's history

The tournament highlighted progress in Malaysia's youth development program, with several young players making significant contributions.

Malaysia entered the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification from the first round due to its FIFA ranking. In the first round, Malaysia defeated Timor-Leste 12–2 on aggregate.

In the second round, Malaysia was drawn into Group G with Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates. The campaign included:

• A 3–2 victory over Indonesia, marked by heightened tensions between the rival nations.
• A 1–2 home defeat to the UAE after leading early.
• A 0–1 away loss to Vietnam, repeating their defeat in the 2018 AFF Championship.
• A 2–1 home win against Thailand, keeping qualification hopes alive.
• A 2–0 victory over Indonesia, moving Malaysia to second in the group behind Vietnam.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected Malaysia's national team in 2021. During the final matches of 2022 World Cup qualification, several key players were unavailable, forcing head coach Tan Cheng Hoe to field a squad featuring new call-ups and veteran players.

The team's results during this period included:

• 0-2 defeat against Bahrain
• 1-4 loss to Kuwait in a friendly match
• 0-4 defeat against the United Arab Emirates
• 1-2 loss to Vietnam
• A final 1-0 victory over Thailand in qualification

These results eliminated Malaysia from World Cup contention. The team's struggles continued at the 2020 AFF Championship (held in December 2021), where they failed to advance beyond the group stage. Following this performance, Tan Cheng Hoe resigned as head coach in January 2022.

After Tan Cheng Hoe's resignation, former vice-president of Korea Football Association, Kim Pan-gon was appointed as Malaysia's new national team coach on a 2-year contract. His first task was the 2022 FAS Tri-Nations Series held in Singapore in March 2022. At that time, Pan-gon recorded his first success when Malaysia won 2–0 against Philippines but suffered a subsequent 1–2 loss to Singapore in the next match. Pan-gon's next challenge came when Malaysia faced Brunei and Hong Kong in a series of friendly matches as part of preparations for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification. Malaysia won 4–0 against Brunei and 2–0 against Hong Kong, raising confidence and support from FAM and Malaysians in the hope of improving Malaysian football's fortunes which had declined in the previous years.

In the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Malaysia faced 3 matches which began with a 3–1 victory against Turkmenistan in the first match, suffering a 1–2 loss to Bahrain, before successfully ending their campaign by defeating Bangladesh with 4–1. Thus, Malaysia finished second in Group E behind Bahrain and automatically qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup on merit after 42 years. Shortly thereafter, Malaysia's FIFA ranking rose up to 147th from 154th in March 2022. Later in September 2022, Malaysia entered the 2022 King's Cup in Thailand, facing the host and later, Tajikistan in the final. Malaysia won 5–3 on penalties against Thailand after a 1–1 draw but later failed to win the cup after a 0–3 lost in the penalty shootout after being held to a goalless draw.

At the end of 2022, before the start of the 2022 AFF Championship campaign, Malaysia held 2 friendly matches against Cambodia and Maldives, winning 4–0 and 3–0 respectively. In the 2022 AFC Championship, Malaysia has won 1–0 against Myanmar with Syihan Hazmi saving a late penalty to secure the win for Malaysia. In the next match, Malaysia went on to thrash Laos 5–0 but lost 0–3 against Vietnam in a controversial match that led to Azam Azmi's red card. Yet, Malaysia won 4–1 against causeway rivals, Singapore in the last match being the first time Malaysia had won over Singapore on home soil which also sees Malaysia finishing in second place of Group B, thus seeing them automatically qualified to semi-finals match against Thailand. Malaysia won the first leg of the match with Faisal Halim scoring the only goal in the match but in the second leg, Thailand scored thrice which see Malaysia failing to enter the final after with a 3–1 aggregate defeat to Thailand. Despite this, Malaysia ended 2022 with astonishing results overall which see them rose up to 145th in FIFA ranking.

Later in March 2023, Malaysia won again against Turkmenistan with 1–0 and 2–0 against Hong Kong at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor in a series of friendlies. In June 2023, Malaysia won 4–1 against the Solomon Islands and recorded their second biggest victory ever when they won 10–0 against Papua New Guinea at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Terengganu. Shortly after, Malaysia's FIFA ranking rose up again to 137th in the world and 4th in ASEAN, behind the Philippines (135th), Thailand (113th) and Vietnam (95th), thus making it the highest ranking attained in 17 years.

In September 2023, Malaysia faced their biggest challenge ever when they met Syria and China in Chengdu, China. Malaysia passed the test after coming back from two goals down to manage a 2–2 draw with Syria and 1–1 with China respectively. In October 2023, the Merdeka Tournament was held after a 10-year absence, with Malaysia meeting India and Tajikistan. In the opening match, Malaysia won 4–2 against India in the semi-final but later lost to Tajikistan again 0–2 in the final.

After 42 years of absence (excluding 2007, when Malaysia was one of the hosts), Malaysia went to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup with high expectations, as they were put in a group with Jordan, Bahrain, and South Korea. As part of the preparation for the tournament, Malaysia had a friendly match with Syria again with the same score as last year, a 2–2 draw. Malaysia opened their tournament with a disastrous start, as they were beaten 0–4 by Jordan. In the second match against Bahrain, whom they met in the qualifiers, the game looked to be ending in a draw, until Ali Madan scored a last-minute goal for Bahrain. Thus, Malaysia failed to advance past the group stages of the AFC Asian Cup again after four appearances, while they were also struggling to find their first Asian Cup win since their last win in 1980.

Malaysia headed into their final group stage fixture against the favourites in the group, South Korea. Within the 21st minute, Malaysia were already 1–0 down through a Jeong Woo-yeong header, heading into the second half of the match on the back foot. However, in the second half, Faisal Halim scored with an audacious chip against South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo (which was nominated as the goal of the tournament), followed up by a penalty slotted away by Arif Aiman to give Malaysia a surprising 2–1 lead against the Koreans. Eventually, a Lee Kang-in free-kick and a penalty from Son Heung-min put South Korea back in the lead. With the score 3–2 to the Koreans and the match surpassing the 90th-minute mark, it looked to be three losses out of three for Harimau Malaya until the 90+15th minute, when Romel Morales scored an equaliser against all odds. The match ended 3–3, securing a memorable draw, and earning Malaysia's first point since 1980.

Heading into the match against Oman in March, the Malaysian camp remained optimistic about getting positive results. However, Malaysia suffered 2–0 defeats, both away & at home. Malaysia then managed to get 1 point against Kyrgyzstan and 3 points against Chinese Taipei, and eventually finished in third place with 10 points. However, it proved insufficient as Kyrgyzstan finished second with 11 points, thus seeing Malaysia out of contention for the World Cup, and instead compete in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualification.

Following Malaysia's elimination from the World Cup qualification, on 16 July 2024, Pan-gon announced his resignation as Malaysia's national team head coach, citing personal commitments. Assistant coach Pau Martí replace Pan-gon as the caretaker coach. While managing the team, Martí helped the team win the 2024 Merdeka Tournament. The 2024 ASEAN Championship is the final caretaker roles of him for the team.

On 16 December 2024, FAM announced the appointment of Peter Cklamovski, who is recently the former manager of FC Tokyo as the new head coach for the Malaysian team. Cklamovski will begin his duties on 5 January 2025, with the task of leading the team to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Subsequently on 11 January 2025, FAM announced a new management line-up for the national team as part of its restructuring process. Rob Friend has been recruited as CEO and Dr. Craig Duncan appointed as head of high performance and sports medicine. Besides, Tim Cahill, a former Australian international footballer, has been elected as a personal advisor on sports and international relations.