Of course Malaysia never made to the World Cup finals, but I thought it would be interesting to look back on how we fared during the qualifying rounds, especially during the period of our greatest strength, that is the 1970s and early 1980s, to gauge our level with the strongest nations.

It seems that the first World Cup qualifying in which Malaysia participated was for the 1974 edition. In May 1973, we held South Korea 0-0 in Seoul and a few days later defeated Thailand 2-0 at the same venue. Unfortunately we’d lost 0-3 to a strong Israel side earlier. For the record, there was only one place for AFC and OFC: Australia qualified after beating South Korea (yes, they regrouped) 1-0 in the final match.

So how did Australia fare at the finals? In June 1974, they first lost 0-2 to East Germany, then 0-3 to eventual world champions West Germany. East Germany also qualified for the 2nd round, and they lost 0-1 to reigning world champions Brazil 0-1 and the Johan Cruyff-inspired Holland 0-2.

Can you visualise where Malaysia was roughly then?

In the 1978 World Cup qualification, in the first round Malaysia defeated Thailand 6-4, lost to hosts Singapore 0-1 and drew with table toppers Hong Kong 0-0. We finished 3rd in the group, only the group topper (Hong Kong) qualified for the final round. There, they performed miserably, losing all their 8 matches, scoring 5 and conceding 26 goals. The group was won by Iran – the only Asian representative to that year’s World Cup.

So what happened to Iran in Argentina 78? The reigning Asian champions finished last in their group, losing 0-3 to Holland, drew 1-1 with Scotland and 1-4 to group topper Peru. Peru then disintegrated in the next round, including 6-0 thrashing by Argentina. Holland went on to the final, losing 1-3 to Argentina in extra time.

Can you visualise where Malaysia was roughly then?

In the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, in the first round Malaysia finished 3rd best in their group to a rampant Kuwait, to whom we lost 0-4 away and suffered a narrow 1-2 loss to South Korea. Only Kuwait advanced to the final round, which they duly topped, and whose only blemish was their shock 0-3 loss to China in Beijing.

So Kuwait went to Espana 82, only to find themselves in a tough group – with England, France and Czechoslovakia for company. Still, they did commendably well, holding the Czechs to a draw and limiting England to a 1-0 victory. The one against France ended in a 1-4 defeat. England topped the group, but were sent packing in the 2nd round, while France finished fourth.

Can you visualise where Malaysia was roughly then?

So as you can see, even during the era of our supposed greatest strength, we did not even make to at least the second round of qualification. We always found opposition like Singapore and even Hong Kong tough customers, what more the more established nations. So what hope do we have for the future? What can we do to usher in another golden age that shines brighter than the days of Mokhtar Dahari and colleagues? Gobble up fat burner pills first? Why is our second most popular sport, badminton doing better?

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