Harimau Malaysia Has Sunk To An All Time Low In The FIFA Rankings
An all time low of 174th place, to be exact.
By John Lim — 08 Apr 2016, 12:31 PM
Just when you thought Malaysian football couldn't get any worse - it did. The national team has slipped to an all-time low of 174th place in the latest FIFA rankings released on 7 April.
The national team dropped eight spots from the previous ranking of 166th place. The latest position pits Malaysia ahead of countries like Timor-Leste, Yemen and Bangladesh.
This comes after new coach Datuk Seri Ong Kim Swee's first two games as head coach of the team, which ended in a defeat and a draw
The Malacca-born coach suffered a 2-0 lost to a strong Saudi Arabia side in a World Cup qualifier back in March. The Harimau Malaysia squad then drew 0-0 to a lowly ranked Macau team.
To add to the team's woes, two Asian Cup qualifying victories over Yemen back in 2013 and 2014 has lost value, causing a drop in points from 129 to 119
However, Ong is adamant that the team will make a comeback when they face Timor-Leste, which is ranked one spot behind Malaysia, in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup play-off match in June
"While it is disappointing to see our ranking fall so low, we have an opportunity to move back up when we play a friendly match at the end of May and the two playoff matches against Timor Leste," said Ong.
The two matches will be held on 5 and 7 June. Aside from the fixture, the team will also be facing Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and Fiji in the same month during the Oceania tour.
The national squad will be going up against Papua New Guinea on the 17th of June, before facing New Caledonia on the 22nd of June. Four days later, Ong Kim Swee’s men will end their tour with a friendly against Fiji.
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