Malaysia

Lacking in Asian Cup finals pedigree but eager to break out of the group stage for the first time in their history, Malaysia travel to Qatar with a squad filled with youthful inexperience and exciting talent in equal measure.

What to expect

The Tigers have never reached the knockout stage of the tournament and face a stern test in Group E, facing off against Bahrain, Jordan and tournament favourites South Korea, who boast world-class talent in Tottenham Hotspur’s Heung Min Son and FC Bayern’s Kim Min Jae.

However, Malaysia enter the tournament in blistering form, securing five wins and two draws from their last eight games, including a 10-0 thrashing of Papua New Guinea in June.

That said, history isn’t on their side. Across three previous tournaments in 1976, 1980 and 2007, Malaysia have won just one Asian Cup match. The test of their progress will be how the Tigers perform against the big guns such as South Korea, who are ranked 107 places higher in the FIFA world rankings.

Ranked 130th in the world and lowest in their group by some margin, Malaysia are the only team in Group E to qualify as group runners up – South Korea topped their Second round qualifification Group whilst Jordan and Bahrain progressed as winners in Third round Groups A and E respectively.

The Asian Cup 2023 marks the first time the Tigers have qualified for the tournament since 1980, after being guaranteed a place in 2007 as co-hosts of the finals.

Malaysia are very much outsiders to progress out of Group E, which has shaped into one of the most challenging groups in the competition. But records are meant to be broken and this team of Tigers has a bite.

Star players

With a squad comprised of almost entirely Malaysian League players, 26-year-old winger Faisal Halim (pictured) stands clear as the player to watch for the Tigers. Ranking as Malaysia’s most valuable player with a €400k valuation on Transfermarkt, Halim has been in blistering form for his nation, scoring five goals in Malaysia’s last six competitive games, taking his international goal tally to 14 in just 25 caps, with his best years yet to come.

Halim dominated the Malaysian League last term, tallying 23 goal involvements in as many matches as his side Selangor pushed for the title, achieving second place. Fuelled by the feeling of missing out on the championship title, Halim has the opportunity to make the difference in his nation’s ambition to climb out of the group stage.

Decorated with skilful wingers, Malaysia boast another trickster to watch in 26-year-old Safawi Rasid. The right-sided forward is his nation’s top international scorer with 20 goals in 57 games.

Manager 

South-Korean Kim Pan-gon (pictured), was hired in January 2022 with the aim of helping the team return to AFC tournament football. On 15 June 2022, he managed to help the Malayan Tigers qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup after 42 years since the last time the Malaysian national football team qualified for the prestigious tournament with merit.

With a coaching career spanning over 20 years in South-East Asia, Kim Pan-gon earned the title of Hong Kong FA Coach of the Year in 2010 during his time at South China Athletic Association.

Schedule

Malaysia vs Jordan – 15th Jan 2024 – 20:30 – Al Janoub Stadium

Bahrain vs Malaysia – 20th Jan 2024 – 17:30 – Jassim bin Hamad Stadium

South Korea vs Malaysia – 25th Jan 2024 – 14:30 – Al Janoub Stadium

Squad