Malaysia national under-17 football team
| Nickname(s) |
Harimau Muda (Young Tigers) |
|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Malaysia |
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) |
| Sub-confederation | AFF (Southeast Asia) |
| Head coach | P.Somasundram |
| Home stadium | National Stadium, Bukit Jalil |
| FIFA code | MAS |
| First international | |
 Singapore 0–0 Malaysia  (Singapore; August 1980) |
|
| Biggest win | |
 Guam 0–15 Malaysia (Yangon, Myanmar; 12 June 2000) |
|
| Biggest defeat | |
 Bahrain 6–0 Malaysia (Singapore; August 1980) Malaysia 0–6 Thailand  (Kathmandu, Nepal; 1992) Malaysia 0–6 Laos  (Canberra, Australia; 9 October 2009)  Australia 7–1 Malaysia (Phnom Penh, Cambodia; 18 July 2016) |
|
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 0 |
| AFC U-16 Championship | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2004) |
| Best result | Quarter-final (2014) |
Malaysia national under-16 football team (also known as Malaysia Under-16 or Malaysia U-16) represents Malaysia in international football competitions in AFF U-16 Youth Championship, AFC U-16 Championship 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.
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.
The team best performance in the AFF U-16 Youth Championship is by winning the 2013 edition in Myanmar.
Players was called up for international duty with the international selection as the team will represent the nation in the 2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship in July 2016. The team did not managed to pass the group stage.
Malaysia achieved their best ever quarter-final appearance in 2014 edition before being eliminated by Australia after a narrow 2-1 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 will participated for the 2016 edition in Group C alongside South Korea, Oman, and Iraq. The first match for Malaysia will be against Oman on September 16, 2016.
The team qualifying will be determined after AFC U-16 Youth Championship 2016 result.
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.
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