The Malaysia national under-16 football team (also known as Malaysia under-16 or Malaysia U-16) represents Malaysia in international football competitions in ASEAN U-16 Boys' Championship, AFC U-17 Asian Cup and FIFA U-17 World Cup, as well as any other under-17 international football tournaments. The players in the current team mainly consist of players with age within 15 to 16 years old where the oldest players will be below the age requirement of 17 years old when the next U-17 tournament started.
History The team is considered to be the feeder team for the Malaysia national under-19 football team. It is for players aged 16 and less. Also in existence are national teams for Under-22s (Under-21s and Under-20s), Under-19s 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-16s, senior side and then again for the U-16s.
AFF U-16 Youth Championship The team's best performance in the AFF U-16 Youth Championship was winning the 2013 edition in Myanmar.
Players were called up for the 2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship in July 2016. The team did not manage to pass the group stage.
AFC U-16 Championship qualifying Malaysia achieved their best ever quarter-final appearance in 2014 edition before being eliminated by Australia after a narrow 1–2 defeat. The team continued to show their improvement at youth level by advancing to the 2016 competition with three wins from four during their qualifying campaign under the guidance of coach P. Somasundram. The team targeting for reaching the semi-finals and qualify for the World Cup.
The team participated in the 2016 edition in Group C alongside South Korea, Oman, and Iraq. They were eventually knocked out of the campaign after failing to get past the group stage, being defeated 0–3 by both Oman and South Korea, before managing a 1–1 draw with Iraq, thus ending their chances to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifying The team qualifying will be determined after AFC U-16 Youth Championship 2018 result.
NFDP collaboration After a recent slump in performance of national team, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and National Football Development Programme (NFDP) has collaborated to increase the quality of grassroots football development in Malaysia in order to produce better players for the national team. The current target is to produce players which will represent Malaysia in Under 17 World Cup competition in near future.
International records
World Cup
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Year Result 1985 Did not qualify 1987 1989 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 2026 Total0/22––––––
Asian Confederation
AFC U-17 Asian Cup Year Result 1985Withdrew 1986Did not qualify 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 Group Stage 301217 2006 Did not qualify 2008 Group Stage 310257 2010 Did not qualify 2012 2014 Quarter-final 420244 2016 Group Stage 301217 2018 Group Stage 31 0 28 8 2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2023 Group Stage31 0 2 2 8 2025 Did not qualify 2026TotalBest: Quarter-final1952122141
ASEAN Confederation
AFF U17 Youth Championship Year Result 2002 Fourth Place 4301128 2005 320164 2007 Round 1 4121138Total Best: Fourth Place11 6 2 3 31 20
AFF U-16 Youth Championship Year Result 2008Third Place421165 2011Group Stage413075 2013Champions6330133 2015Group Stage 520348 20165212612 2017Fourth Place7403137 2018Third Place6402134 2019Champions7520204 2022Group Stage312063 2024310265 2026Runners-up530267TotalBest: Champions5528121510063
Invited tournaments Invited Tournament YearTournament Result 1980 Lion City Cup Round 1 5122312 1981 Lion City Cup 5005119 1982 Lion City Cup 410357 2005 Lion City Cup Runners-up 5311113 2006 Lion City Cup 421133 2012 Frenz International Cup Fourth Place521284 2014 FAM-FRENZ Asia Champions Trophy Champions138324417 2015 International Youth Championships 421131 2016 Dream Come True Tournament Runners-up 6510643 2016 AIFF Youth Cup Fourth Place 5 0 2 3 5 12 2016 Bari Cup Runners-up 5401205 2017 Tournament of Nations Tenth Place 510437 2018 JENESYS Japan-ASEAN Tournament Fifth place 4301162 2019 Jockey Club Football Tournament Champions 3300111 2019 CFA U-16 Youth Football TournamentChampions321052 2022UEFA U15 Development TournamentRunners-up312053 2025 FIFA Youth Series Fifth place 310213 2025 Emerging Socceroos Championships Tenth place 6141107TotalInvited Tournament: 18 Tournaments Best: Champions 88 40 19 29 218 111
Results and fixtures
2026
Players
Current squad The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Indonesia in Surakarta, Indonesia on 4 and 7 July 2026, respectively.
Recent call-ups The following players were previously called up to the squad.
Coaching staff Malaysia national football team managementRolesNames Head coach Shukor Adan Assistant coach Lim Chan Yew Assistant coach Kuizwan Johari Goalkeeping coach Farizal Harun Fitness coach Rueben Jude Balraj Team manager A. Christopher Raj Kitman Suhardi Abang Usop Team admin Mohd Razihanif Che Razak Team analyst Ren Tsukakoshi Team analyst Lee Jeyoon Physiotherapist Nabil Fikri Kamaruddin Masseur Mohd Nazrin Mohd Nor Team doctor Ridzuan Azmi Media officer Vincent Wong Yew Sing
Coaching history S. Balachandran (2013–2014) Somasundram a/l Periasamy (2015–2016) Lim Teong Kim (2017–2018) P. Maniam (2019) Osmera Omaro (2022–2024) Javier Jordi Ribera (2024–2025) Noor Zaidi Rohmat (2025) Javier Jordi Ribera (2025–2026) Shukor Adan (2026–)
Honours
Regional ASEAN U-16 Boys' Championship Winners (2): 2013, 2019 Third Place (2): 2008, 2018
Others Lion City Cup: Runner-up (2): 2005, 2006
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-19 football team
Notes
References
External links Harimau Malaysia (National Team) FIFA profile: Malaysia / Fixtures & Results Football Association of Malaysia
Head-to-head record The following table shows Malaysia's head-to-head record in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup. OpponentWin %Total