If living conditions are any sort of meter by which football teams can be separated, then Bafana Bafana ought to hammer Chad in Saturday's Group 11 African Nations Cup qualifier (Stade Omnisport, kick off 5pm SA time).
Around 15 minutes down the dusty N'Djamena streets from Bafana Bafana's luxury, five-star Hotel Kempinski lies the Hotel Du Golf, where the Chad national football team are staying.
The Hotel Kempinski is a testament to Libyan opulence, probably the most modern structure in the Chadian capital, standing tall opposite the country's National Assembly.
The Hotel Du Golf, on the other hand, is a defining example of self-irony. There is not a golf ball, let alone golf course in sight. Indeed, the structure resembles more a two-bedroom house than a hotel.
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'We are going to win' However, the Chad team appear comfortable enough in their humble surroundings. The team, under coach Okala Natoltiga, have been in camp for around two weeks, beating Cameroon and the Central African Republic on the way to finishing third in the CEMAC Cup.
Now, after losing their opening two Nations Cup qualifiers, they have Carlos Alberto Parreira's Bafana Bafana in their sights.
"We are chasing the three points and so are Bafana," says Chad captain and goalkeeper Valery Ndeidoum N'dakom.
"We will see what happens on the day."
The 24-year-old N'dakom plays his football in Gabon with Telestars FC, and is one of six overseas-based players in the squad. Perhaps the most high-profile is Oumar Frangis, a striker from French Ligue 1 side Nantes.
The rest of the squad play in the local league. All 11 of the top division's clubs are from N'Djamena and all use the pitch at the Stade Omnisport where Bafana will play today.
Twenty-one-year-old defensive midfielder, Jaques Douevve, who plays for local side Gazelle, believes this could work to his side's advantage. "We are going to win," he says confidently. "It is our pitch, we know it well and the heat suits us."
Hot it most certainly is.
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