Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos admits he is surprised at how well his side are doing, adding that everyone would have laughed if he said they would be top of Group G at this stage of the qualifiers.

The South African national team are possibly two games away from sealing their spot in the next stage of qualifying for the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup, with only games against Zimbabwe on Thursday and a potential decider against Ghana on Sunday to come.

Broos’ men carry a one-point advantage into the final two games and while he is confident of getting the necessary results, the team has been hit with a couple of setbacks.

“We’ve lost two players that I can need in games like one against Ghana, for example, without Hlanti and [Mothobi] Mvala. There will be others, but it’s up to them to take the chance when it’s given,” the coach explained.

Hlanti raptured his achilles tendon at his club Kaizer Chiefs’ training session and been replaced by Tercious Malepe of AmaZulu for the clash.

“First of all, I am surprised that we are now in this position because three months ago, I think if you said to someone that we will be first in the group, everybody would laugh,” Broos said.

“We’ve done a fantastic job until now. The players have been fantastic.

“I took players and made choices; sometimes, my choices were not good, and certainly, when I see the [current] 23 players, it changed over the past few months.

“It was difficult for me to make that first selection because I did not know much about South African football, and now I know much more about them.

“Again, I know we are playing two very important games, but that does not make me nervous because I have confidence in that team. So, let the games come, and we will see. I will be happier if we go to Ghana still with the points, but we will focus on Zimbabwe first.”