A painful World Cup snub! South Africa star hits back at former coach's accusations
Patrick Maswanganyi is still feeling the pain of missing out on football's biggest tournament.
Details: The 28-year-old Al Khaldiya attacker has opened up about his exclusion from South Africa's squad for the 2026 World Cup. Despite being included in Hugo Broos' preliminary squad, the former Orlando Pirates star failed to make the final cut, while Bafana Bafana went on to reach the knockout stage. His former coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou, subsequently claimed that Maswanganyi could have made the squad had he listened to his instructions.
Speaking during an online press conference with the South African Football Journalists Association, Maswanganyi insisted he had given everything whenever he received an opportunity to represent his country.
“You know, it happened and I had done everything I could with the opportunities I got from the coach,” Tito admitted.
The attacker also challenged Ouaddou's accusations:
“And I wouldn’t know what he [Ouaddou]’s talking about because if you have watched any opportunity I got at that time, I always made sure I do something.”
“You know I help the team and I play my heart out. So, for me, I had done everything I could,” he continued.
Maswanganyi then admitted how deeply the omission affected him:
“Missing out on the World Cup is something that hurt me, but you know, sometimes you need to live for those kinds of things that they happen in football.”
It's worth noting that Maswanganyi joined Bahrain's Al Khaldiya from Orlando Pirates in August 2026. During his time with the South African giants, he made 120 appearances, scoring 28 goals and providing 21 assists.
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Steven Perez
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