Maswanganyi Not Surprised About Missing AFCON Squad
Orlando Pirates midfielder Maswanganyi has expressed understanding and acceptance after being left out of the final Bafana Bafana squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The 28-year-old was part of the 54-man preliminary squad but failed to make it to the 25-man squad for the AFCON.
The former SuperSport United midfielder was with Bafana Bafana during their qualification for the FIFA World Cup and AFCON. Maswanganyi’s journey with the national team has been marked by injuries, which have significantly impacted his playing time.
Maswanganyi was also considered as a replacement for the injured captain Themba Zwane in October 2024. However, he also got an injury in September this year and missed the last four games of Bafana’s World Cup qualifications.
Since then, Maswanganyi has been sidelined in Bafana and also missed many games in Pirates due to injuries and tight competition at the Buccaneers.
His teammate at Pirates, Sipho Mbule, who replaced Maswanganyi in Bafana, has played all four games of World Cup qualifications in September and October.
“I think I already knew that I was not going to make it to the AFCON squad because I was not playing,” Maswanganyi said on SNAWA.
“I was not getting minutes to play, but I think when I was called up to the national team, I had problems with small injuries.
“I think those kinds of things do affect your mind and also your position in the national team because there are a lot of players in the country that are really looking out for this opportunity, and they’re really doing well to be in that position.
“So, for me, I didn’t even think about it because I already knew that I was not going to make it.
“But for sure it does affect me at the same time because everybody wants to be in the national team, but if you’re not there, then you can’t force things, and I need to work hard and wait for my opportunity if it’s going to come, but I need to get the opportunity in my team first.”
Bafana will begin their journey in AFCON against Angola on 22 December, then the second game will be against Egypt on Boxing Day, and then the final game of the group stage will be on 29 December against Zimbabwe.
