The trophy which will be presented to the World Cup winner ones the final has been played and determined on December 18th has already arrived at Qatar after returning from the World tour. The opening game will see hosts Qatar take on Ecuador. FIFA's pleas to "focus on the football" have struggled however against an international spotlight on Qatar's treatment of migrant workers, women, and the LGBTQ community. Qatar has angrily rebuffed most of the attacks and local media on Sunday blasted the "arrogance" of some Western countries. Qatar is predicting more than one million fans will be in the smallest country to host a World Cup, and many have arrived in the capital.

Following Europe's top leagues posing their seasons for the FIFA World Cup, almost all the teams are already at their training bases ahead of the continental showpiece event. In Doha port, the giant newly built cruise ship, MSC Europa, was to be officially named on Sunday before it welcomes thousands of World Cup fans. In a concession to Qatar's Islamic culture that restricts alcohol and bans gambling, a bottle of rose water was to be smashed on the hull instead of traditional champagne for the inauguration and the ship's casino was to be closed while it was in port. Three cruise ships will house up to 10,000 fans and MSC said the Europa was fully booked for the first two weeks of the 29-day tournament.

On land, barriers have gone up on main streets and around metro stations and stadiums as security forces brace for the football invasion. The World Cup organizers say that 2.9 million of the 3.1 million tickets have been sold and scores of hopeful fans waited outside the FIFA ticketing center hoping that scarce tickets become available for top games. Migrant workers from South Asia have bought thousands of replica Brazil and Argentina shirts and can be seen wearing them in the streets. The laborers have been at the center of an often acrimonious dispute over deaths, injuries, and their working conditions since Qatar was awarded the World Cup in 2010.

European and Qatari media on Sunday kept up their war of words over whether the energy-rich Gulf state should host the event. One British newspaper said that many fans believed that Indians in Qatar had been "paid" to take part in rallies supporting Argentina and Brazil. Thousands of migrant workers flocked to the march on Friday. In response, Qatar's Al-Sharq newspaper said the anti-Qatar campaign "confirms the arrogance of some Western countries who believe organizing the World Cup must remain monopolized by them". Some of the favorite teams to lift the world cup from Europe are; England, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and defending champions France while the South American continent has put their hopes on Lionel Messi's Argentina and five times world champions Brazil.