No one was more disappointed than Bongani Zungu when stand-in coach Owen da Gama named the Bafana squad, and his name was not there.

The Portugal-based midfielder has been a regular feature for Primeira Liga side Vitória de Guimarães and thought he would be called up for national duty.

"I was expecting to be in the squad but I guess the selectors had different thoughts. So I just told myself I have to keep pushing and hope to be selected next time. But I was very disappointed," Zungu said.

Zungu made his debut for Guimarães in December, six months after joining the club from Mamelodi Sundowns and has played 16 matches in all competitions.

And with three man-of-the-match awards in that period, the 24-year-old feels he should have been given the nod to represent SA in the matches against Guinea-Bissau on Saturday and Angola tomorrow. Despite the snub, Zungu hopes to make a return to Bafana sooner rather than later.

"It won't affect my game. I have a big heart. As much as I was disappointed I just told myself that I got to gear up and push more and more. I wish the selected players the best of luck because playing for Bafana is a great honour," Zungu stated.

One of the selected players is Luther Singh, who also plays in Portugal for Sporting Praga's B side. Zungu had an opportunity to see Singh in action and believes the latter is destined for greatness.

"What a player! Brilliant touches and he is a natural goal scorer. I watched one game when he scored for Braga, my bosses here wanted him and I almost convinced him to join me here but it was too late," Zungu said of Singh, who should make his senior debut when Bafana take on Angola in East London tomorrow (7pm).

DID YOU KNOW?

Zungu has 20 Bafana caps (nine starts and 11 substitute appearances, plus three goals).

He made his debut in the 2-0 win over Burkina Faso at FNB Stadium in August 2013.

Zungu's last match for Bafana was against Angola in November 2015 at Moses Mabhida Stadium.