A promising start to the joint 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign raised hopes that Malaysia would be able to advance to the third round of the qualification process for the very first time, but the enforced break due to Covid-19 outbreak, as well as the loss of home-ground advantage put paid to those dreams.
Yet finishing third in the group behind United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, who are both far higher in the FIFA rankings, should not be seen as small feat with perennial Southeast Asian giants Thailand twice being handed defeats by Tan Cheng Hoe's men.
The last edition which was Tan's debut tournament being the head coach saw the team going all the way to the final only to be narrowly ousted by Vietnam and there will be renewed hopes with the players having three more years of experience under their belt.
Drawn in Group B, which is widely seen as the easier of the two groups, Malaysia will once again lock horns with Vietnam and then there's the tasty encounter against Indonesia in the mix as well.
A minimum final appearance would be expected of Tan and his side, with many hoping that the team will be able to match the glory days of 2010.
- SUZUKI CUP GROUP B TABLE
- SUZUKI CUP GROUP B FIXTURES
- MALAYSIA SQUAD
- HOW TO WATCH MALAYSIA AT THE SUZUKI CUP
- MALAYSIA RESULTS
- MORE READING
Suzuki Cup Group B table
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia (Q) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | +9 | 10 |
2 | Vietnam (Q) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | +9 | 10 |
| 3 | Malaysia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +0 | 6 |
4 | Cambodia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 3 |
| 5 | Laos | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -13 | 0 |
Suzuki Cup Group B fixtures
| Date | Time | Match | TV channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 6 | 17:30 | Cambodia 1-3 Malaysia | Astro |
| December 6 | 20:30 | Laos 0-2 Vietnam | Astro |
| December 9 | 17:30 | Malaysia 4-0 Laos | Astro |
| December 9 | 20:30 | Indonesia 4-2 Cambodia | Astro |
| December 12 | 17:30 | Laos 1-5 Indonesia | Astro |
| December 12 | 20:30 | Vietnam 3-0 Malaysia | Astro |
| December 15 | 20:30 | Indonesia 0-0 Vietnam | Astro |
| December 15 | 17:30 | Cambodia 3-0 Laos | Astro |
| December 19 | 20:30 | Vietnam 4-0 Cambodia | Astro |
| December 19 | 20:30 | Malaysia 1-4 Indonesia | Astro |
Malaysia squad
| Name | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Kalamullah Al-Hafiz | PJ City | Goalkeeper |
| Khairulazhan Khalid | Selangor | Goalkeeper |
| Khairul Fahmi Che Mat | Melaka United | Goalkeeper |
| Junior Eldstal | Chonburi | Defender |
| Aidil Zafuan | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Defender |
| Shahrul Saad | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Defender |
| Rizal Ghazali | Kedah Darul Aman | Defender |
| Ariff Farhan | Kedah Darul Aman | Defender |
| Arif Fadzilah | Terengganu | Defender |
| Quentin Cheng | Penang | Defender |
| Dion Cools | Midtylland | Defender |
| Dominic Tan | Police Tero | Defender |
| Syahmi Safari | Selangor | Defender |
Junior Eldstal | Chonburi | Defender |
| Baddrol Bakhtiar | Kedah Darul Aman | Midfielder |
| Mukhairi Ajmal | Selangor | Midfielder |
| Akhyar Rashid | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Attacker |
| Arif Aiman | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Attacker |
| Syafiq Ahmad | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Attacker |
| Guilherme de Paula | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Attacker |
| Shahrel Fikri | Selangor | Attacker |
| Faisal Halim | Terengganu | Attacker |
| Luqman Hakim | Kortrijk | Attacker |
R. Kogileswaran | PJ City | Attacker |
How to watch Malaysia at the Suzuki Cup
What | Where |
|---|---|
| TV channel | Astro |
| LIVE streaming | Astro Go |
Malaysia national team results
2021
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 9 | Uzbekistan 5-1 Malaysia | International Friendly |
| Oct 6 | Jordan 4-0 Malaysia | International Friendly |
| Jun 15 | Thailand 0-1 Malaysia | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Jun 11 | Malaysia 1-2 Vietnam | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Jun 3 | UAE 4-0 Malaysia | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| May 28 | Bahrain 2-0 Malaysia | International Friendly |
| May 23 | Kuwait 4-1 Malaysia | International Friendly |
2019
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 19 | Malaysia 2-0 Indonesia | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Nov 14 | Malaysia 2-1 Thailand | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Nov 9 | Malaysia 1-0 Tajikistan | International Friendly |
| Oct 10 | Vietnam 1-0 Malaysia | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Oct 5 | Malaysia 6-0 Sri Lanka | International Friendly |
| Sep 10 | Malaysia 1-2 UAE | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Sep 5 | Indonesia 2-3 Malaysia | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Aug 30 | Malaysia 0-1 Jordan | International Friendly |
| Jun 11 | Malaysia 5-1 Timor Leste | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Jun 7 | Malaysia 7-1 Timor Leste | World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers |
| Jun 2 | Malaysia 2-0 Nepal | Internatinonal Friendly |
| Mar 23 | Malaysia 2-1 Afghanistan | Airmarine Cup |
| Mar 20 | Malaysia 0-1 Singapore | Airmarine Cup |
More reading
AFF Suzuki Cup: Fixtures, results, tables and top scorers
AFF Suzuki Cup champions: Every single AFF Championship winner from 1996 until 2018
AFF Suzuki Cup: How to watch Malaysia at the AFF Championship 2020?
AFF Suzuki Cup: Malaysia, Singapore and each participant's full squad, captain, star player and head coach
AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 favourites and dark horses: Who are most likely to go all the way at AFF Championship?