The Liverpool midfielder is confident Argentina have got their public back on side after recent away victories over Scotland and France.

Maradona, appointed to succeed Alfio Basile last autumn, will take charge of his first home match on Saturday when Argentina take on Venezuela at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

They have beaten Scotland 1-0 and France 2-0, and Mascherano said: "The results have helped a lot.

"The national team managed to win the last two friendlies and the fans are happy again."

Argentina made a slow start to their qualifying campaign and stand seven points behind leaders Paraguay in the South American qualifying zone.

Four automatic qualifying places for the South Africa tournament are up for grabs to South American sides, and with Argentina currently third they are in a strong position but slip-ups could still be costly.

Mascherano said: "We must win the two matches we have ahead to be closer to South Africa rather than thinking of being closer to Paraguay. Being top in the qualifying tournament is not that important.

"I have plenty of expectation. Every time we are together we do things in the right way, even more so if we know that the two upcoming rounds are very important for the future."

The Bolivia game in La Paz comes four days after Saturday's clash, and Argentina will be without Juan Roman Riquelme for both fixtures after the Boca Juniors midfielder announced he would not play for his country while Maradona is in charge.

Mascherano said: "It was quite a big surprise, even though it was a personal decision and we must respect it."