England arrive in 30C Doha heat after flying to Qatar World Cup on Gay Pride plane

England arrive in 30C Doha heat after flying to Qatar World Cup on Gay Pride plane,England have finally arrived together as a squad in Qatar as they look ahead to the World Cup kicking off this week with their first match against Iran coming next Monday

England arrive in 30C Doha heat after flying to Qatar World Cup on Gay Pride plane

Gareth Southgate and his squad have touched down in Qatar with the World Cup in their sights as they look to end 56 years of hurt.

And they'll need to adapt to the soaring desert temperatures that have already hit 30C, despite the fact it is winter back home.

Leading them off the stairs was Harry Kane with the rest of the players following behind the England captain as they took to the air on the "Rain Bow", a Virgin Atlantic A350 Airbus that promotes Gay Pride. Beneath the cabin, a motif of Oscar featured – who is the LGBTQ+ Union Jack-trailing flying icon for the airline.

The FA were behind the idea as they wanted to make their own gesture to protest the strict homosexuality laws in place in Qatar. The Middle East country has banned the practice of being gay, where perpetrators can be punished by death.

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England get their World Cup campaign underway on Monday when they face Iran in the afternoon. There are further matches against USA on 25 November before taking on Wales on 29 November.

The Three Lions will be operating from the Souq Al Wakra Hotel in Qatar, where all 101 rooms have been booked up. And even the WAGs are tagging along, who have been booked onto a luxury cruise ship dubbed HMS WAG.

England players have arrived in Doha ahead of the World Cup

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Southgate will be hoping to take his side one step further than the Euros last year in 2021 where they reached the final before losing to Italy. At the 2018 World Cup, England made it to the semi-finals as they lost out to Croatia.

Harry Kane led the England players off the plane as they touched down in Qatar

And the Three Lions boss has high hopes for this tournament, insisting this could be England's greatest tournament. “With the players we want to talk to them about the excitement of going to a World Cup,” Southgate said.

“We understand the need to comment on the off-field things that surround this tournament, but we want the players to feel that enthusiasm that they’ve had since kids.

The England squad will have high hopes for the upcoming World Cup

England's airplane featured a LGBTQ+ Union Jack-trailing flying icon

"We want to fuel that. The first couple of days we won’t be on the training pitch, bar a couple [of players] that will need to do something.

"We want them to transition from a hectic club schedule to thinking about England. We want to talk to them about the fact that this, whatever happens over the next four weeks, has been the second-best period for English football. We can make it the best.

Gareth Southgate waved to fans outside the England team hotel

Fans were cheering England's arrival outside the team hotel

“It’s the challenge mindset. How can we take the supporters on another journey, like the one they loved four years ago and loved last summer? That’s why we do it and that’s what makes playing for England special.”