1–5 defeat at the hand of Kyrgyzstan. Under Antoine Hey, Myanmar also had an unsuccessful 2018 AFF Championship, with the team was knocked out from the group stage, and Hey resigned after. Myanmar began their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification grouping with old rival Kyrgyzstan, as well as Tajikistan, Mongolia and especially powerhouse Japan. Under the guidance of the new manager Miodrag Radulović, Myanmar had a disastrous beginning when the team fell 0–1 to Mongolia away, 0–2 to Japan at home and especially a 0–7 away defeat to the Kyrgyz, causing the Montenegrin to be fired. After the defeat to Kyrgyzstan, old coach Antoine Hey returned, where he helped Myanmar to gain a shock home win 4–3 over Tajikistan before beating Mongolia 1–0 also at home to boost morale. 2020s: The dramatic fall The COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar and subsequent Myanmar protests depleted greatly the national team when many key players refused to represent Myanmar in international football citing the junta's involvement. As for the result, Myanmar brought to Japan with half of its squad members weren't regular starters, and suffered its worst defeat in modern era to the host 0–10, forcing Antoine Hey's men to win their 2 remaining matches against Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan while hoping for defeats from their 2 main opponents in the same time against Japan (and even a draw or a defeat against Mongolia for Kyrgyzstan) to be among the 4 best runners-up. Having lost to Kyrgyzstan 1–8 the next match, Myanmar were officially eliminated from the World Cup and the top 2 spots in the group. Eventually, Myanmar confirmed its bottom place in the group, losing 0–4 to Tajikistan, and have to play the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification. During the AFF Suzuki Cup, Singapore defeated Myanmar 3-0, with Ikhsan Fandi scoring a brace. Myanmar bounced back from that defeat with Than Paing and Maung Maung Lwin scored a goal each to give them hope of qualifying to the semi-finals. However, those hopes were made impossible after Thailand won 4-0 against Myanmar. Myanmar ended a disastrous tournament after failing to defeat the Philippines in the final matchday. The team were also drawn in the Group of Death in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification, with World Cup Qualifying group members Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The team are also to play against AFF Suzuki Cup group members Singapore. The team failed to make any progress with