Orlando Pirates' Patrick Maswanganyi knew long before Hugo Broos finalised his final squad that he will not be going to the Africa Cup of Nations

Patrick Maswanganyi is confident the opportunity to play in a major tournament for South Africa will come again.

The Orlando Pirates midfielder is not part of Bafana Bafana 25-man squad to play this year’s Africa Cup of Nations even though he was seen as a potential replacement for Themba Zwane.

Zwane is also not going to the continental spectacle which would have meant Maswanganyi is in but the left-footer did not make it.

“I think I need to work hard and wait for my opportunity if it’s gonna come again. I’m working hard to get my place in the team first, if I do well there first, then I stand a chance to be in the national team,” Maswanganyi told Metro FM.

Maswanganyi said he saw the omission from Bafana Bafana squad coming as he first lost his place at Orlando Stadium.

“I think I already knew I wasn’t going to make it to the AFCON squad cause I wasn’t playing, I’d get like a few minutes to play,” he said.

“But I think when I was called up to the national team, I had problems and I think those kind of things affect your mind and position in the national team because there’s a lot of players in the country that are working hard, doing well to be in that position.

“So, for me, I didn’t even think about it, cause I knew already I wasn’t going to make it.”