The two nations meet on Friday at the Azam Stadium in Dar es Salaam, with kickoff scheduled for 15h00 South African time.
“The coaching staff has been working hard to prepare us thoroughly for this match. We went to Lesotho and Botswana as individuals because we had just met but now we are playing as a unit as the results showed. I believe we now know each other better and that gives us confidence that we will do well,” said Maluleke who is affectionately known as Xavi among his teammates.
For a majority of the Amajimbos players it was there first time they crossed the border out of South Africa when they took part in the camp against Botswana and Lesotho.
Xavi says the experience boded well for the team as they gained some much needed experience ahead of the crunch encounter.
“Going to Lesotho and Botswana was a worthwhile exercise. We had never played in front of away opposition fans before and that helped us mentally to ready us for the crucial clash against Tanzania,” added Maluleke.
“We have now settled in well in the team and continue from where we left off in our last match in Botswana. All of us want to play in the World Cup and we know the path to realizing that dream starts with these qualifiers. That is why we have to do well from the beginning.”
