- Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says while Zimbabwe may have a different coach, but will still be a difficult side to deal with on Thursday.
- The neighbours meet in a Group G 2022 World Cup qualifier at the FNB Stadium.
- A win for South Africa will go a long way to securing a place in the next qualifying round.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos said the Zimbabwe team they will be facing at the FNB Stadium on Thursday won't be different from the one they met in the early stages of qualifying.
South Africa had played Zimbabwe in Harare on 3 September in what was Broos's first competitive game in charge.
That game ended in a goalless draw, but Bafana have since reeled off three consecutive wins to be top of the group with 10 points.
Zimbabwe, who are now coached by former Chippa United mentor Norman Mapeza, are out of the running with three losses and one draw from their four games.
Broos said it's all about how they'll need to collect the points against Zimbabwe.
"They have been changing coaches, but having watched their games, they haven't changed their style of play," Broos said.
"The team we'll face on Thursday will be a different team to the one we faced at the start of the qualifiers.
"We'll see how they'll play, but the most important thing will be how we play."
Bafana's qualification run has been far from smooth despite their collecting of three points. One such example was their 1-0 home win against Ethiopia on 12 October.
Broos hopes Ethiopia can produce the same performance against Ghana in the 15:00 game at the Orlando Stadium on Thursday.
"We showed character, even though we didn't play very well. We struggled and we suffered against Ethiopia," Broos said.
"Let's hope they can up with the same performance against Ghana and we can never know what can happen."
The stakes have never been this high for Bafana Bafana, even though another qualification round awaits should they navigate the next two fixtures successfully.
Broos said his charges were not just switched on mentally for Thursday's outing, but the rest of the campaign.
"Everyone wants to win that game on Thursday and it's not going to be easy. I'm confident in my team and they've proved it in the last four games," Broos said.
"I know the mentality in the group is very good and the atmosphere in the group is also very good.
"Everything is there to have a positive result on Thursday and we'll go until the end to get the victory."