Hundreds of fans from South Asia and South America greeted Neymar and his teammates as the Brazil squad landed in Qatar for their bid to secure a sixth World Cup.

Drum-beating Indians who have already made their mark on the tournament left Brazilians in a minority outside the luxury Doha hotel that will be the Selecao's base for the tournament.

"Why do neutral fans support Brazil? Because they are the best in the world," said Kelly Dias, a Brazilian who runs a cosmetics business in Madrid, Spain.

The tens of thousands of Indian football fans in Qatar are mainly divided between Argentina and Brazil.

Every night the fans organize rival flash mobs in Doha where hundreds beat drums and wave the Argentinian and Brazilian flags. Smaller groups have backed England and other ­European nations.

The Indian contingent was joined by Brazil fans from Bangladesh and Arab nations as they waited for more than three hours outside the hotel late Saturday. Lijo Mathew, 24, said he waited because he wanted to see Neymar. Others wore yellow shirts with Neymar's name written across the back.