At the age of 19, Soh earned his full international caps for Malaysia in the 1969 King's Cup. In 1971, when he played in the Olympic qualifier in Seoul, South Korea, he was the youngest member of the national team at the age of 21. He participated in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and was the captain of the qualifying team to the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Unfortunately Malaysia did not participate the 1980 Olympics in boycott of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. However, because of his contribution for helping Malaysia to qualify for 1980 Olympics, he was awarded Ahli Mangku Negara by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He later took part in the 1980 AFC Asian Cup, where his Malaysia was eliminated from the group stage, yet Malaysia produced one of the finest performance ever under his leadership, with the team gaining a famous 1–1 draw over powerhouse South Korea; Soh gained fame as well for having an exceptional tournament, allowing him to be named into the Team of the Tournament by the AFC, the first Southeast Asian to receive such honour, a record which would stand until the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.