The Malaysian team had participated in four editions of AFC Asian Cups in their history, the 1976, 1980, 2007 (where Malaysia co-hosted with Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam) and the latest in 2023.
After the disastrous poor performance in 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Malaysia failed to qualify again for the 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions.
Malaysia's inaugural performance at the 1976 Asian Cup is still considered a hard pill to swallow as the Chinese advanced to the last four via on goal difference.
Malaysia's performance in 2007 Asian Cup is still remembered as the worst performance ever for a host nation in the Asian Cup when the team did not manage to collect any single point with conceded the most goals.
After the tournament, criticisms run high with the defeat of the Malay Tigers, even in the foreign press.