England, Netherlands Arrive in Qatar As Infantino Calls for Focus on Football

England and the Netherlands will be the first World Cup heavyweights to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday as FIFA President Gianni Infantino again urged teams to focus on the football.

The pleas from football's world governing body have struggled to be heard in some countries as the countdown to Sunday's kick-off has intensified the focus on Qatar's treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community.

FIFA launched its "Football Unites the World" campaign with a video featuring star players including Neymar, Karim Benzema and Edouard Mendy.

Infantino said: "Although football is and should be our main focus, the FIFA World Cup is also about values and causes that extend far beyond the pitch and we are delighted that football stars past and present have joined us to promote and highlight these topics, which also unite the whole world."

USA coach Gregg Berhalter explained why his team are displaying a rainbow logo at their training base in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.

"We think it's important, wherever we think that when we are on the world stage and in a venue like Qatar, to bring awareness to these issues," he said.

"We recognise that Qatar has made major strides and there has been a ton of progress but there is some work to do."

Infantino also called for a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the World Cup, saying sport could bring people together.

He told leaders of the Group of 20 major economies gathered in Bali that he was not "naive" enough to believe the World Cup could solve the world's problems.

But he said the tournament offered a "unique platform", with an estimated five billion people expected to watch on television.

Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup finals but FIFA barred the Russian team from the qualifying play-offs for Qatar in response to the invasion of Ukraine._AFP