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Johannesburg - South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane is confident Bafana Bafana will book their spot at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
The national team are currently at the top of Group G, after beating Niger 1-0 at home and earning a point in Sierra Leone in their last qualifying outing.
Their next important test is against continental giants Egypt on 26 March.
And Mosimane, who succeeded Carlos Alberto Parreira after the June/July World Cup, is pleased with the team's progress.
"We were able to build on the foundation laid during the 2010 World Cup," he told the Sowetan.
"When I took over Bafana were lying 86th on the FIFA rankings. It is now history that Bafana are 50th.
"We have a big game coming in March against seven-time African champions Egypt in the AFCON qualifiers. That is a must-win match for us.
"As part of the preparations for that qualifier, we hope to play against either Gabon or Burkina Faso in February where we will use the team to play against Egypt.
"Our qualifying campaign has been pretty good, we are well on track to qualify. We are on top of the log but it's too early to start celebrating."
He added: "Charity begins at home. Bafana must first conquer Africa before we can even start thinking about becoming world beaters.
"After winning the 1996 AFCON, Bafana were ranked No1 in Africa and 16 (in the world) by FIFA."
The national team are currently at the top of Group G, after beating Niger 1-0 at home and earning a point in Sierra Leone in their last qualifying outing.
Their next important test is against continental giants Egypt on 26 March.
And Mosimane, who succeeded Carlos Alberto Parreira after the June/July World Cup, is pleased with the team's progress.
"We were able to build on the foundation laid during the 2010 World Cup," he told the Sowetan.
"When I took over Bafana were lying 86th on the FIFA rankings. It is now history that Bafana are 50th.
"We have a big game coming in March against seven-time African champions Egypt in the AFCON qualifiers. That is a must-win match for us.
"As part of the preparations for that qualifier, we hope to play against either Gabon or Burkina Faso in February where we will use the team to play against Egypt.
"Our qualifying campaign has been pretty good, we are well on track to qualify. We are on top of the log but it's too early to start celebrating."
He added: "Charity begins at home. Bafana must first conquer Africa before we can even start thinking about becoming world beaters.
"After winning the 1996 AFCON, Bafana were ranked No1 in Africa and 16 (in the world) by FIFA."
