Malaysia national under-22 football team

This article is about the Malaysia national under-22 football team. For the current national under-23 national football team, see Malaysia national under-23 football team.

Malaysia U-22

Nickname(s)	Harimau Muda (Young Tigers)
Association	Football Association of Malaysia
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	AFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coach	Nafuzi Zain
Captain	Haykal Danish
Home stadium	Bukit Jalil National Stadium
FIFA code	MAS
First colours Second colours

Malaysia national under-22 football team (also known as Malaysia Under-22, Malaysia U-22 or Malaysia B-22) represents Malaysia in international football competitions including in the SEA Games of the 2017 edition. It is managed by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). This team was created for the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualification, 2017 SEA Games and participated in the 2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship. ^{[1] [2]}

History

After Harimau Muda project disbanded in 2015, FAM needed a fresh start for the U-23 team where a new set of players was brought in for the team with the creation of SEA Games Project 2017 team which was then announced as the national under-22 team. ^{[1] [3]} The players in the current team mainly consist of players with age around 18 to 21 years old where the oldest players will be below the age requirement of 22 years old when 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia started. ^[1] With bigger pool of players within age of 18-22, the team will also play in other age-restricted tournament as the younger side such as U-21 and U-22 when needed.^{[ citation needed ]}

The team is considered to be the feeder team for the Malaysia national football team. It is for players under the age of 22 and less. Also in existence are national teams for Under-19s, Under-16s and Under-14s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, hence it is possible for one to play for the U-22s, senior side and then again for the U-22s.^{[ citation needed ]}

Frank Bernhardt era

Frank Bernhardt has been announced as the new head coach for the newly created Malaysia under-22 national football team in preparation for 2017 Southeast Asian Games. The 46-year-old began his new job as national under-22 boss on Monday at Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) headquarters in Kelana Jaya. His first task is to pick an assistant from four candidates—Hassan Sazali, P. Maniam, Reduan Abdullah and Azlan Johar. And then Bernhardt will choose a squad of 25 players to work with ahead of the SEA Games football tournament on home soil in August 2017. ^[4]

25 players, including President's Cup players from DRB-Hicom and Sime Darby were picked to join the U22 national team third training camp. ^[5]

Tournament records

AFC U-22 Championship

Note: AFC U-22 in 2013.

AFC U-22 Championship Record									AFC U-22 qualification Record							Head coach
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2013	did not qualify								5	3	0	2	17	7		Ong Kim Swee
Total	Best: None	–	–	–	–	–	–		5	3	0	2	17	7

SEA Games

Note: All Malaysian participants from U-22 since 31 March 2016 are only for SEA Games.

SEA Games Record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
2017	Runners-up	2/11	6	5	0	1	11	5
Total	Best: Runners-up	1/1	6	5	0	1	11	5

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy record

Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
2002	Third Place	5	2	0	3	13	9
2005	Group Stage	4	2	0	2	3	7
2007	Third Place	4	1	1	2	4	7
Total	Best: Third Place	13	5	1	7	20	23

Recent results

Main article: Malaysia national under-22 football team results

  Win  Draw  Lose

2019

AFF U-22 Youth Championship (17–26 February)

Malaysia   v   Cambodia

18 February 2019 (2019-02-18)Group stage	Malaysia	0–1	Cambodia	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
18:30  UTC+7		Report	Rosib 62'	Stadium: Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh Attendance: 3,875 Referee: Nguyễn Hiền Triết (Vietnam)

Indonesia   v   Malaysia

20 February 2019 (2019-02-20)Group stage	Indonesia	2–2	Malaysia	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
15:30  UTC+7	Marinus 52' Witan 77'	Report	Nik Akif 62' Hadi 86'	Stadium: Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh Attendance: 600 Referee: Steve Supresencia (Philippines)

Malaysia   v   Myanmar

22 February 2019 (2019-02-22)Group stage	Malaysia	1–0	Myanmar	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
18:30  UTC+7	Hadi 45'	Report		Stadium: RSN Stadium Attendance: 115 Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

2023

Merlion Cup (24–26 March)

Cambodia   v   Malaysia

24 March 2023 (2023-03-24)Semi Final	Cambodia	2–4	Malaysia	Singapore
17:00  UTC+8	Lim Pisoth 36' Sieng Chanthea 51'	Report	Haqimi Azim 13' V. Ruventhiran 30' Fergus Tierney 62' Najmudin Akmal 73'	Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Referee: Clarence Leow (Singapore)

Hong Kong   v   Malaysia

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)Final	Hong Kong	1–2	Malaysia	Singapore
21:15  UTC+8	Lau Ka Kiu 80'	Report	Najmudin Akmal 74' Safwan Mazlan 79'	Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Referee: Ahmad A'Qashah (Singapore)

2023 Southeast Asian Games (29 April–17 May)

Malaysia   v   Laos

3 May 2023Group stage	Malaysia	5–1	Laos	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
				Stadium: Prince Stadium

Malaysia   v   Thailand

6 May 2023Group stage	Malaysia	0–2	Thailand	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
				Stadium: Prince Stadium

Malaysia   v   Vietnam

8 May 2023Group stage	Malaysia	1–2	Vietnam	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
				Stadium: Prince Stadium

Malaysia   v   Singapore

11 May 2023Group stage	Malaysia	7–0	Singapore	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
				Stadium: Prince Stadium

Players

Current squad

• The following 20 players were called up for the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
• Caps and goals correct as of:

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1 GK	Syahmi Adib Haikal	(2003-03-30) 30 March 2003 (age 22)	1	0	Negeri Sembilan
23	1 GK	Haziq Aiman	(2005-01-19) 19 January 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Melaka
2	2 DF	Faris Danish	(2006-07-04) 4 July 2006 (age 19)	0	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim II
3	2 DF	Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili	(2003-11-30) 30 November 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Terengganu
4	2 DF	Alif Ahmad	(2003-01-02) 2 January 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim II
5	2 DF	Shafizan Arshad	(2005-08-15) 15 August 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim II
6	2 DF	Arif Ilham	(2003-09-28) 28 September 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Kuala Lumpur City
14	2 DF	Ariff Safwan	(2005-02-17) 17 February 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim II
21	2 DF	Muhammad Ariq Darius	(2010-01-31) 31 January 2010 (age 15)	0	0	Al-Rayyan Academy
7	3 MF	Haykal Danish (captain)	(2005-05-05) 5 May 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Selangor
8	3 MF	Arfan Ariff	(2007-08-21) 21 August 2007 (age 18)	0	0	Balestier Khalsa
10	3 MF	Leonel Pérez	(2004-08-09) 9 August 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Huracán
13	3 MF	Isaiah Teng	(2008-02-13) 13 February 2008 (age 17)	0	0	Vélez Sarsfield
15	3 MF	Mauricio Benítez	(2004-02-03) 3 February 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Boca Juniors
17	3 MF	Dylan Tellado	(2005-10-09) 9 October 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Harvard Crimson
11	4 FW	Najmuddin Akmal	(2003-01-11) 11 January 2003 (age 22)	1	1	Johor Darul Ta'zim
18	4 FW	Fergus Tierney	(2003-03-19) 19 March 2003 (age 22)	1	1	Sabah
19	4 FW	Danish Syamer	(2004-07-08) 8 July 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
20	4 FW	Celso Bermejo	(2005-01-09) 9 January 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
22	4 FW	Haqimi Azim	(2003-01-06) 6 January 2003 (age 22)	1	1	Kuala Lumpur City

Team officials

Roles	Names	Appointment date
Team Management
CEO	Rob Friend [6] [7]	31 December 2024 [8]
Deputy CEO	Stanley Bernard	15 April 2025
Coaching Staff
Head coach	Nafuzi Zain	16 December 2024
Assistant coach	Koo Ja-cheol
	Ryan Giggs
	Hairuddin Omar	5 January 2025
	Shukor Adan	12 October 2023
	Hazzuwan Halim
Goalkeeping coach	Eiji Kawashima
Fitness coach	Khairal Afiq
Doctor	Ridzuan Azmi
Physiotherapist	Masaaki Taira
	Harris Zafran Ahmad Haraman
Masseur	Ahmad Ramzi Ahmad Zaini
Kitman	Sukri Haimi
Video analyst	Ahmad Hilmi Abdul Latif
Nutritionist	Norazmi Ramliy
Media Officer	Wan Mohd Fakhrul Anwar Wan Bakar
Team Administrator	Azfendy Azzudin
Team coordinator	Zulfadli Rozi	17 March 2025
Technical director	Tan Cheng Hoe	15 April 2025

Head coaches

• Frank Bernhardt (2016–2017) ^[9]
• Ong Kim Swee (2017)
• E. Elavarasan (2023–2024)
• Nafuzi Zain (2025–)

Head coaches records

As of 25 March 2017

Malaysia national football team head coaches
Name	Country	Period	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD	Win %
Frank Bernhardt	Germany	2016–2017	14	5	5	4	17	18	−1	035.71
Ong Kim Swee	Malaysia	2017	6	5	0	1	11	5	+6	083.33
E. Elavarasan	Malaysia	2023–2024	5	3	0	2	12	8	+4	060.00

Honours

Regional

• Southeast Asian Games
  • Silver medals: 2017

Others

• Merlion Cup
  • Winner: 2023 ^[10]

See also

• Malaysia national football team
• Malaysia women's national football team
• Malaysia national under-19 football team
• Malaysia national under-16 football team

References

1. Lim Say Heng (19 February 2016). "Football to revert to U-23 format after 2017 SEA Games". TNP. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
2. Martin Martinez (15 February 2019). "AFF U-22 Championship 2019: Malaysia schedule, time table, matches". FOX Sports Asia. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
3. Nik Afiq (25 November 2015). "FAM Terminates Harimau Muda Program". Goal.com. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
4. "SEA Games gold medal in sights of new Malaysia U22 coach Bernhardt". ESPN FC. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
5. Nik Afiq (27 April 2016). "Bernhadt Calls Up 25 Players For Next 2017 Sea Games Project Squad Training Camp". Goal.com. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
6. "FAM taps Rob Friend as CEO to usher in a new era for Harimau Malaya". Bernama. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024– via Malay Mail.
7. Jacques, John (31 December 2024). "Rob Friend Named Malaysia National Team CEO". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
8. "Ex-CanMNT forward, current Vancouver FC president Rob Friend appointed Malaysia national team CEO". Canadian Soccer Daily. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
9. Nik Afiq (31 August 2016). "Malaysia U22 players Prefer Call-Up Approach". Goal.com. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
10. "Malaysia juara Piala Merlion" (in Malay). Harian Metro. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.