Malaysia confirmed to be in 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off round

The latest FIFA rankings confirms Malaysia position to be outside of the best 34 teams in Asia which means Harimau Malaya will start in the play-off.

It was an outcome which everyone expected after the end of the Airmarine Cup and it was confirmed today that Malaysia will have to be involved right from the very start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup QatarPreliminary Round 1 after Malaysia dropped one place from 167 to 168.

That means that Malaysia did not manage to overtake Singapore like what Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had hoped for with the introduction of the Airmarine Cup. In the Airmarine Cup played in March, Malaysia lost 0-1 to Singapore in the first match which ruined any hope overtaking their Causeway rivalls.

Even though Tan Cheng Hoe's men recovered to beat Afghanistan 2-1 in the second match, which gave Malaysia valuble points, the gap to next highest Singapore actually increased from six points to 12 points. Malaysia gained only one ranking point from the two matches played.