Matlan Marjan: The Sabahan Who Scored vs England
Who is the only Malaysian to score against England?
Matlan Marjan, a footballer from Kota Belud in Sabah, is the only Malaysian to have scored against England. He netted both Malaysian goals in a friendly on 12 June 1991 that ended England 4, Malaysia 2.
Matlan Marjan at a glance
Every footballing nation has a handful of moments its fans never tire of retelling. For Malaysia, one of them belongs to a Sabahan from the coastal town of Kota Belud. Matlan bin Marjan, born around 1968, holds a distinction no other Malaysian can claim: he scored against England, and he did it twice in the same match.
His goals came in a friendly on 12 June 1991, against an England team packed with household names. Although Malaysia lost the game 4 to 2, the two strikes turned Matlan into a lasting figure in the national football story and a source of pride for Sabah in particular.
Matlan Marjan is the only Malaysian to have scored against England — two goals in a single 1991 friendly against a near full-strength English side.
From Kota Belud to the national team
Matlan grew up in Kota Belud, a district on Sabah's west coast known for its Bajau community and its famous weekly tamu market. Like many Sabahan players of his generation, he rose through state-level football before earning a place in the wider Malaysian game.
By the early 1990s he had become a regular for the national team during a period when Malaysian football still attracted large, passionate crowds. It was in this era, representing his country abroad, that he produced the performance for which he is still remembered.
The day he scored against England
On 12 June 1991, Malaysia faced England in a friendly played as part of England's tour ahead of a major international tournament. The visiting side was close to full strength, featuring internationally famous players including Gary Lineker, John Barnes and Ian Wright.
Against that calibre of opposition, Matlan Marjan scored not once but twice. The final score was England 4, Malaysia 2 — a defeat on paper, but a personal triumph that has outlived the result. To this day, no other Malaysian has matched the feat of scoring against England, which is why the match is replayed in conversation whenever Malaysian football history comes up.
A career across the region
Matlan's playing days took him beyond Sabah. He turned out for the Sabah state team, the Brunei-based club Brunei Shell, and Pahang FA in Peninsular Malaysia, building a career that spanned both sides of the South China Sea.
That regional journey was typical of talented Sabahan footballers of the time, who often moved between state sides and clubs across Malaysia and neighbouring Brunei to find the best opportunities. Through it all, his Kota Belud roots and his England goals kept him closely identified with Sabah.
Why he still matters to Sabahans
Sporting heroes matter most when they show that talent from anywhere can compete at the highest level. For a state sometimes overlooked in national conversations, Matlan Marjan is exactly that kind of figure: a boy from a west-coast Sabahan town who left his mark on one of football's most storied national teams.
His name surfaces reliably in Malaysian football retrospectives and trivia, and for Sabahans he remains a point of pride — proof that the state has produced athletes capable of moments the whole country remembers. For visitors curious about Sabah beyond its beaches and mountains, his story is a small, vivid window into local sporting culture.
Matlan is one of several Sabahans who reached the top of their field. Explore golfers Ben Leong and Nicholas Fung, or browse the full Notable Sabahans guide.