The Malaysia national under-19 football team (also known as Malaysia Under-19 or Malaysia U-19) represents Malaysia in international football competitions in ASEAN U-19 Boys' Championship, AFC U-20 Asian Cup, and FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any other under-20 international football tournaments. Playing at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship on home soil, they became the first Southeast Asian team to score in a FIFA tournament. The players in the current team mainly consist of players with age within 17 to 19 years old where the oldest players will be below the age requirement of 20 years old when the next U-20 tournament started. The team will also play in other age-restricted tournament as the older or younger side such as U-20 and U-18 when needed.
After the disbandment the of Harimau Muda project, Football Association of Malaysia needed a fresh start for the U-19 team where a new set of players was brought in for the U-23 side with the creation of SEA Games Project 2017 team with the team mainly consisting of players aged around 18 to 21 years old. The set of players who were still under 19 years old can then also be selected to represent Malaysia for the U-20 side tournament with the Under-19 team.
History The team is considered to be the feeder team for the Malaysia national under-23 football team. It is for players aged 19 and less. Also in existence are national teams for Under-23s (Under-22s and Under-21s), 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-19s, senior side and then again for the U-19s.
Harimau Muda Project era After the abysmal performance of Malaysia national football team in international scene, Football Association of Malaysia created Harimau Muda Project where the under-19 side was called to represent Malaysia as a single team club called Harimau Muda C.
Harimau Muda C was formed to provide a bigger pool of players and become a feeder team for Harimau Muda B, as Harimau Muda B did to Harimau Muda A. Harimau Muda C made their debut in the 3rd Division of Malaysian football, the FAM League and fielded under-18 aged players.
The team is aimed at developing Malaysian youth players and will not recruit any foreign nationals in its squad. By entering Harimau Muda C in domestic competitions, FAM hopes to expose top Malaysia under-19 players to competitive matches, thus helping them prepare for international tournaments. As such, Harimau Muda C is one of a small number of football clubs in the world which places an age-restrictions on team members while playing in a national professional league. Harimau Muda C played in the Malaysia FAM Cup from 2013 to 2015 season.
In 2015, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, former FAM's Deputy President has stated that the Football Association of Malaysia must disband the Harimau Muda system, stating the Harimau Muda system is no longer relevant, it was not planned for the long term, and the state football associations should take the responsibility to groom potential players.
On 25 November 2015, it was confirmed that the Harimau Muda has disbanded by FAM which means all the players from Harimau Muda A, Harimau Muda B and Harimau Muda C will be returned to their own state team.
Revival of the team Since Harimau Muda Project was disbanded, the under-19 team enter hibernation state and only recently surfaced again as a formal under-19 national team instead of a club.
AFF U-19 Youth Championship Players were called up for international duty along with the international selection as the team represented the nation in the 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship in September 2016.
AFC U-19 Championship qualifying The team did not qualify for the 2016 edition.
FIFA U-20 World Cup qualifying The team was not qualified for the 2017 edition as they were already knock-out from 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification.
International records FIFA World Youth Championship YearRoundPosition 1977 Did not qualify 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997Round 124/24300329 1999 Did not qualify 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 2027 To be determinedTotalBest: Round 11/25300329 **Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
YearRoundScoreResult1997Round 1 1 – 3 LossRound 1 1 – 3 LossRound 1 0 – 3 Loss
AFC Youth Championship YearRoundPosition 1959Runners-up2/94301262 19602/84301166 1961Round 15/104211157 1962Fourth place4/105221116 1963Round 15/125302106 1964Third place3/104211117 19653/106303616 1966Quarter-final5/12421183 1967Round 114/142002110 1968Runners-up2/127403915 1969Quarter-final5/15411248 1970Round 111/17310235 1971Quarter-final5/16420236 1972 Round 111/174211163 1973 12/14201136 1974Quarter-final8/16420257 1975Round 115/19402237 197614/15300309 19778/13302114 197814/18310239 1980 did not qualify 1982 1985Withdrew 1986did not qualify 1988Withdrew 1990did not qualify 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004Quarter-final8/16420246 2006Round 115/16300317 2008did not qualify 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018Round 113/16301236 2020Qualified, but later cancelled 2023did not qualify 2025 2027QualifiedTotalBest: Runners-up23/4289351341159161 **Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
ASEAN U-19 Boys' Championship YearRoundPosition 2002Group stage7/104112611 2003 Runners-up 2/9 6 5 0 1 16 6 20052/105312218 20062/4311144 20072/85302137 2008did not enter 2009Fourth place4/8320193 2010did not enter 2011Third place3/104211121 2012did not enter 2013Group stage5/11522194 2014did not enter 2015Fourth place4/10622278 2016Group stage6/114202107 2017Runners-up 2/11 7421135 2018 Champions 1/11 6420115 2019Runners-up 2/12 7403137 2022 Champions 1/11 6411115 2024Fourth place4/125221183 2026Group Stage6/11320193TotalBest: Champions16/207943152218287 **Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Invited tournament YearTournament Result 2005 Lion City Cup Champions 441094 2012 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy Round 1411236 2014 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy Semi-final631275 2014 Beijing Hyundai Youth Tournament Fourth Place3 0 03 1 15 2019 Sanix Cup Twelfth Place6 114214 2022 Thanh Niên Cup Runners-up412143
Results and fixtures
2026
Players Current squad
The following 23 players were selected for the 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification in Vientiane, Laos.
Caps and goals as of 8 June 2026 after the match against Thailand.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up since 2025.
Notes PRE = Preliminary squad SUS = Suspended INJ = Withdrew from the roster due to an injury UNF = Withdrew from the roster due to unfit condition RET = Retired from the national team WD = Withdrew from the roster for non-injury related reasons
Top appearances As of matches on 14 July 2018. Rank Player Club(s) Year(s) U-19 Caps1Dominic TanHarimau Muda C2014–2016202Jafri ChewPenang2013–2016183Hadi FayyadhJohor Darul Ta'zim II2017–2018174K. GurusamyHarimau Muda2008–2009165Fadhli ShasHarimau Muda2008–2009166Shivan Pillay PKNS U192017–2018167Syahmi SafariSelangor U192013–201715
Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-19s.
Top goalscorers Rank Player Club(s) Year(s) U-19 Goals1Jafri ChewPenang2013–201613
Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-19s.
Coaching staff Malaysia national football team Coaching staffRolesNames Head coach Shukor Adan Assistant coach Lee Jeyoon Goalkeeping coach Yong Wai Hwang Head of high performance and sports medicine Reuben Jude Balraj Performance analyst Haru Chung Physiotherapist - Masseur - Kitman - Team coordinator / Team Manager Ong Kim Swee
Coaches
Ong Kim Swee (2010–2015) Razip Ismail (2015) Frank Bernhardt (2015–2017) Bojan Hodak (2017–2019) Brad Maloney (2019–2021) Hasan Sazali Waras (2022) Norzaidi Rohmat (2023) Juan Torres Garrido (2024) Nafuzi Zain (2026–)
Head-to-head record The following table shows Malaysia's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. OpponentWin %Total
Honours
International FIFA U-20 World Cup Round 1 : 1997
Continental AFC U-19 Championship Runner-up (3) : 1959, 1960, 1968 Third Place (2) : 1964, 1965
Regional AFF U-19 Youth Championship Winners (2) : 2018, 2022 Runner-up (6) : 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017 Third place (1) : 2011
Others Lion City Cup: Winners : 2005
International U-19 Thanh Niên Newspaper Cup: Runner-up : 2022
See also Malaysia national football team Malaysia women's national football team Malaysia national under-23 football team Malaysia national under-22 football team Malaysia national under-16 football team
References
External links Football Association of Malaysia Official website FIFA profile: Malaysia / Fixtures & Results