Malaysia’s FIFA Ranking Through the Years
June 15, 2026 5:21 pm
Table of Contents
- Understanding FIFA Rankings
- Malaysia’s Early Football Success
- Malaysia’s FIFA Ranking in the 1990s
- Malaysian Football Was Really Bad In The 2000s
- 1. Malaysia Did Not Do Well In Big Tournaments
- 2. They Had Trouble Making New Players Better
- 3. Other Countries In The Region Were Getting Better At Football
- The Lowest Point: FIFA Ranking of 174
- The Revival of Harimau Malaya
- AFF Championship Improvements
- Better Results in Asian Competitions
- Malaysia’s Highest FIFA Ranking
- Significance of the Ranking
- The Impact of Naturalised Players
- Recent FIFA Ranking Progress
- Comparison with Regional Rivals
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Indonesia
- Singapore
- Factors That Influence Malaysia's Future Ranking
- 1. Consistency in Competitive Matches
- 2. Youth Development
- 3. Domestic League Quality
- 4. Coaching and Tactical Development
- 5. International Exposure
- Can Malaysia Reach the 100 Again?
- The Road Ahead for Harimau Malaya
Football is a big deal in Malaysia. People love watching and playing the game; they fill up stadiums to cheer on their teams. The country has also faced a lot of challenges. One way to measure how well a national team is doing is to look at the FIFA World Ranking. This ranking shows how teams compare to each other around the world.
Malaysia’s FIFA ranking has gone up and down over the years. It has never made it to the World Cup. Harimau Malaya, as the team is widely known, has had some big moments that have affected its ranking in the world of football.
This article is about Malaysia’s FIFA history. We will look at when the ranking was volatile and what might happen in the future.
Understanding FIFA Rankings
FIFA started ranking teams in December 1992. They wanted to see how teams compared to each other. The rankings are based on how teams do in matches and how strong their opponents are. How important the competitions are. The way FIFA calculates the rankings has changed. Now they use a system called the SUM system, which is like the Elo rating system. This system updates a team's points after every match. For countries like Malaysia, the rankings can change a lot because of things like:- How they do in World Cup qualifiers
- How they do in AFC Asian Cup qualification campaigns
- How they do in the ASEAN Football Federation Championship
- How they do in friendlies
- How well do they do against teams that are ranked higher than them? Malaysia’s FIFA ranking is affected by all these things.
Malaysia’s Early Football Success
Malaysia was already known as a football country in Asia before the FIFA rankings started. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Malaysia had a time for football. The national team made it to the Olympic Games in 1972 and 1980. The second time was a bit tricky because of politics. Malaysia had players like Mokhtar Dahari, who is still a legend. If FIFA rankings were around, then Malaysia would have been ranked much higher than it was in the 1990s and 2000s.Malaysia’s FIFA Ranking in the 1990s
FIFA started ranking countries in 1992. At that time, Malaysia was trying to stay competitive in Asia. New football countries were getting stronger. In the 1990s, Malaysia’s ranking was usually between 70th and 120th. The team was okay in Southeast Asia. Struggled to be one of the best in Asia. Some things affected Malaysia’s ranking:- Malaysia did not do well in World Cup qualifications
- The team had results against stronger Asian teams
- Players were coming in
- Neighbouring countries were getting better
Malaysian Football Was Really Bad In The 2000s
This was a very tough time for Malaysian football. The national team did badly in international games. They played against teams in Asia, and they lost a lot. It had trouble beating teams from countries and teams that were better than it. There were some reasons why Malaysian football was so bad. These are:1. Malaysia Did Not Do Well In Big Tournaments
Malaysia had a time getting to the next round in big tournaments. They lost a lot of games. This made their ranking go down. The national team of Malaysia got points, and their ranking in FIFA went down.2. They Had Trouble Making New Players Better
The people in charge of making players better in Malaysia were not doing a good job. They were not making enough good players to play for the Malaysian team.3. Other Countries In The Region Were Getting Better At Football
Countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia were spending a lot of money to make their football teams better. This made it very hard for Malaysia to beat them. As a result, the national team of Malaysia was often ranked low in the world. They were usually outside the 130 teams in the world during the early 2000s.The Lowest Point: FIFA Ranking of 174
One of the worst moments in Malaysia's football history happened in 2018. That's when the national team ranked 174th in the FIFA World Rankings. This was the ranking Malaysia had ever gotten since FIFA started ranking teams. Many things led to this point:- Poor performances in games
- Not many wins in competitive matches
- Lots of changes in the team's manager
- Not consistency in choosing players
The Revival of Harimau Malaya
Malaysia started to rebuild its football team after a decline in its ranking. The Football Association of Malaysia focused on improving areas:- Finding talented players
- Developing youth football
- Improving coaching standards
- Making leagues better
- Getting players through naturalisation and recruitment
AFF Championship Improvements
Malaysia did well in the AFF Championship. Gained important ranking points. The team reached stages in regional competitions and showed it could compete with Southeast Asian teams.Better Results in Asian Competitions
Malaysia also did well in Asian Cup qualification and friendly matches, which helped its ranking.Malaysia’s Highest FIFA Ranking
Malaysia’s best FIFA ranking was in 1993. This ranking was from a time when Malaysian football was still strong. Being 75th meant Malaysia was a team in Asia back then. Although it did not stay at that level, it is a moment in Malaysian football.Significance of the Ranking
This achievement showed that Malaysia could compete well internationally. It also gives a goal for future teams to try to make Malaysia a strong football nation.The Impact of Naturalised Players
One change in recent years is the addition of naturalised and heritage players. Foreign-born players who can play for Malaysia have made the national team stronger by bringing:- Experience from football leagues
- Better. Discipline
- Higher skill levels
- More competition for spots
Recent FIFA Ranking Progress
Since hitting its ranking ever Malaysia has made a lot of progress. The national team has moved up places with steady performances, a stronger team and better organisation. In recent years, Malaysia has:- Beat teams that were ranked higher
- Done better in World Cup qualifying matches
- Gotten results in the AFC competitions
- Built a stable team
