The Football Supporters' Association has tweeted their response to the news that England, Wales and other European nations will now not wear the One Love armband.

"To paraphrase FIFA president Gianni Infantino - today LGBT+ football supporters and their allies will feel angry. Today we feel betrayed," their statement read.

"Today we feel contempt for an organisation that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.

"Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure. No country which falls short on LGBT+ rights, women's rights, workers' rights or any other universal human right should be given the honour of hosting a World Cup."

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer in Qatar

When I mentioned the refreshing breeze here in Doha earlier I must have been standing on a patch of high ground.

The temperatures here are actually heading towards the 30s around The Khalifa International Stadium with not a breath of wind.

Bang goes the career as a weather presenter.

Jack Murley
BBC LGBT Sports Podcaster on Radio 5 Live

If you’re from the LGBTQ+ community, there have been concerns about this World Cup for a long time for the obvious reasons, about the way the community is treated in Qatar.

Fifa have always said we want everyone to be welcome at the World Cup but the LGBTQ+ community is looking at this and saying don’t tell me, show me.

What Fifa have shown in the past few days is they have had Qatari World Cup ambassadors coming out and saying that homosexuality is a disease of the mind, we’ve had that extraordinary press conference with Infantino and now we’re seeing this (the armband decision).

It doesn’t fill the community with any great expectations about Fifa’s commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and the bar was low with this World Cup in mind to begin with.

Gareth Bale is ready to lead Wales in a "massive piece of history" when he captains them in their first World Cup match for 64 years on Monday.

Wales face the United States in their Group B opener in Qatar.

Although Wales qualified for the past two European Championships, they have not played at a World Cup since 1958.

"It's probably the biggest honour we could have for our country, qualifying for a World Cup, something we haven't done in 64 years," said Bale.

"It's history in our country. Schools are going to stop to watch our games [the second group game against Iran kicks off at 10:00 GMT]. Kids are going to miss school, fortunately for them.

"It's a massive piece of history in our country and something we have all wanted for a long time.

"We have the support of the nation back home, no matter what happens, as long as we give 100% our country will love us for that."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport in Doha

Image source, BBC Sport

France manager Didier Deschamps was asked whether there were enough leaders in the squad to step up in Karim Benzema's absence.

"Do you think I can just click my fingers and someone can be a leader? No, it is something that comes in place over time," he said.

"It is a process. We have some of the team veterans who can take to the floor to speak but there are other types of leadership.

"It’s important that each player is a leader in their position and we will see what they are made of on the pitch.

"I think we have enough players who are able to stimulate and get the others going. We have exactly what we need."

A joint statement from the Football Associations of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland about the One Love armband: "Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in Fifa World Cup games.

"We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.

"We are very frustrated by the Fifa decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to Fifa in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways."

John Terry bumped into Brazilian legend, Kaka at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday.

Kaka won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and was the last player to win a Ballon d'Or before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the award between 2008-18.

Major international tournaments are often described as the pinnacle of any player's career - but things don't always go to plan.

For some, the euphoria of a call-up can then be tempered by a lack of playing time. With only three matches guaranteed, involvement can be extremely limited or, for some, non-existent.

For the 2022 World Cup, with squads increasing from 23 players to 26, the likelihood is that a number of Gareth Southgate's England charges will be watching from the sidelines.

My colleague Harry De Cosmo has been speaking to some former England players about what it is like to go to a major tournament as a reserve. Read his article here.

Andy Cryer
BBC Sport in Qatar

The giant World Cup is proving popular, especially with Iran fans…

Alex Howell
BBC Sport in Qatar

Arrived early to the Khalifa International stadium and heard the music system practicing playing out the national anthems of England and Iran ahead of kick off.

Andy Cryer
BBC Sport in Qatar

It’s nearly time…

The Khalifa International Stadium awaits England v Iran.

Plenty of Iran fans on the Metro this morning, less sign of English fans at the moment .

Image source, BBC Sport

Leopold: Watching the game at a hotel in Dubai, which is overrun with Welsh and Argentinian fans, now all the Verstappen fans have gone home

How and where will you be following today's games?

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport in Doha

Image source, BBC Sport

France captain Hugo Lloris on the decision to wear the OneLove armband:

"Fifa is organising this competition therefore it is up to them to put in a framework.

"As players we’re here to play football and represent our teams as best we can on a sporting front.

"I would prefer to stay in my box. I am a player and a competitor in this competition.

"There are different causes that should be supported and are commendable. As I mentioned it is up to Fifa to take decisions."

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

El Comercio described the victory, external as “historic”, El Telegrafo called it a “triumph”., external

President Guillermo Lasso tweeted:, external “When Ecuadoreans find ourselves inspired and prepared as the players of the national team are, we can build all the victories that we dream of. This is the true national meeting. Let’s keep moving forward @LaTri, all of Ecuador supports you.”

Sports Minister Sebastian Palacios said:, external “When we join together under a single call, a single goal, no one can beat us!”

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport in Doha

Image source, BBC Sport

The last time Denmark played their opening match in a major tournament, Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest.

Manager Kasper Hjulmand and captain Simon Kjaer both spoke about what it means to them to have him back in the squad here in Qatar.

"Before everything happened with Christian I said he was the heartbeat of the team," said Hjulmand.

"When he plays he has a fantastic way of taking the rhythm of the game and feeling it with his passing, intelligence and his vision.

"He is a fantastic player but an even better person. It’s just a pleasure to work with Christian. The love for the game is the most important thing for Christian."

Kjaer added: "I think Christian with his qualities says everything. We are all happy and thankful that Christian is here after what happened.

"As a football player, he is probably one of the best I have ever seen in terms of quality and love for the game.

"We love having Christian by our side. Every minute he plays is only a plus for Denmark."