Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has been pleasantly surprised by the “fantastic” state of the pitch, at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. Bafana take on the Warriors of Zimbabwe in their opening match of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers today and Broos feared that the pitch may not be up to the desired standards.

“First of all, I am surprised by the pitch,” said Broos during his pre-match press conference. “I saw a few games of Zimbabwe from the past and the pitch was very bad but now it is fantastic and I am happy about it,” added the Bafana Bafana coach.

He also explained that he has drilled it into his players not to underestimate Zimbabwe, who will be without some of their star players like midfielder Marvelous Nakamba of Aston Villa, Tendai Darikwa of Wigan Athletic and Jordan Zemura of Bournemouth in England.

In their 29-man squad for games against Bafana Bafana and Ethiopia in group G, the Warriors have included players based in England, Scotland, France, Spain, USA and Georgia while also including players from all the PSL’s big three Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

On the other hand, Bafana’s medical team, withdrew Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Thabiso Kutumela and defender Thibang Phete of Portuguese side Belenenses SAD from the squad, after their Covid-19 tests returned positive.