Malaysia's hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup ended after they lost 2-0 to Japan at the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship on Thursday.

The four teams reaching the semi-finals would automatically for the tournament in Peru next year.

With Tajikistan beating Thailand 2-1 in the other Group A match, Malaysia needed just a draw in their final group match at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium to ensure their spot in the quarter-finals.

However, the absence of top scorer Luqman Hakim, who was sent off in an earlier 4-2 defeat to Thailand, left the young Tigers toothless upfront in the match, which was rescheduled from Wednesday due to poor weather.

With the home side offering almost no goal-scoring threat, it was only a matter of time before the Japanese found the back of the net.

The first goal came in the 37th minute as Shoji Toyama took full advantage of a defensive shamble in Malaysia's box.

Head coach Lim Teong Kim tried to shake things up in the second half with player substitutions, but Japan were always in control of the game.

After missing several chances to seal the game, Japan hit the final nail in Malaysia's coffin in injury time with Hikaru Naruoka stealing the ball in midfield and rifling an effort that deflected off the crossbar and goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel into the goal.

The defeat saw Malaysia finish bottom of Group A and Japan progress to the quarters alongside Tajikistan, who were thrashed 6-2 by Malaysia in the opening match.