After being handed a 0-3 loss, the Malaysian national team received bad news from FIFA.

The Malaysian national team is expected to have points deducted on the FIFA rankings following the forfeiture of three matches.

While still awaiting a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the lawsuit against FIFA involving seven naturalized players, the Malaysian team has received an additional penalty.

Specifically, FIFA has ruled the Malaysian national team lost 0-3 in three friendly matches against Cape Verde on May 29, Singapore on September 4, and Palestine on September 8, as all three matches were held during the FIFA international match calendar in 2025. This means the "Malayan Tigers" will lose all FIFA points earned from these games.

According to statistics from Footy Rankings,Indonesia has climbed above Malaysia in the FIFA rankings. Specifically, Indonesia is ranked 121st, while Malaysia has dropped to 122nd.

Footy Rankings also reported that based on their calculations, this penalty caused Malaysia to lose approximately 22.95 FIFA points, dropping them just behind Indonesia in the rankings.

Before this penalty was imposed, the Malaysian national team had a very successful 2025, going on a nine-match winning streak, mostly in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

However, trouble arose when FIFA accused the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the national team of improperly naturalizing seven players in two Asian Cup 2027 qualifying matches against Nepal and Vietnam.

After FIFA issued a harsh penalty, FAM filed an unsuccessful appeal. Subsequently, they decided to take the case to CAS to restore the team’s reputation and clear the status of the seven naturalized players. Additionally, Malaysia hopes to win against FIFA to secure their results in Group F of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

If CAS issues an unfavorable ruling, Malaysia will likely face sanctions from the Asian Football Confederation, including forfeiting two wins against Nepal and Vietnam.

If this happens, the Asian Cup 2027 qualification spot will go to Vietnam, who only lost once, against Malaysia. The CAS decision is expected before March 2026, when the final round of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers concludes.