Doha: HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani inaugurated the Gulf Cup after a spectacular Opening Ceremony, but what unfolded on the pitch in the 90 odd minutes after that was totally unexpected. Iraq, who were depleted owing to injuries and Al Shorta's Arab Club Championships match on Monday, stunned Asian champions Qatar 2-1 in the opening match to take three invaluable points. Qatar looked like they were in a hurry at the start as Akram Afif and Almoez Ali raided Iraqi goal mouth right from the onset and within seconds of the kickoff, the former had a chance to pull the trigger from inside the box, which he did, but it was straight at goalkeeper Jalal Hasan. His strike partner Almoez, the top scorer in the Asian Cup, missed an even better chance three minutes later when he failed to hit the target after he was found by a Hassan Al Haydous pass. Qatar was all over their rivals in the opening few minutes, but the first warning sign came in the 11th minute after Afif lost the ball in the midfield. Mohannad Ali, who plays for Al Duhail was clear, but last-ditch defending by Boualem Khoukhi ensured the ball did not hit the target. Shareef Abdulkhadim then had a go and Khoukhi was gain there to head the ball out for for a corner. Though Karim Boudiaf cleared the ball, Iraq scored from the throw-in. Mohammed Qasem received the ball and delivered a hopeful cross into the box, where Ali was marked by two Qatari players. But Bassam Al Rawi opted to leave the ball instead of clearing it and the curling pass ended up in the far corner of Saad al Sheeb's goal. It that was a shock, more of that kind was in store for Qatar as Iraq doubled the lead nine minutes later. A freekick from the middle was cleared by Qatari defence but Qasem picked up the loose ball and unleashed a powerful shot that bulged the net, giving Al Sheeb no chance. Momentarily stunned by the reversal, Qatar created more chances but the final pass and the finishing was not what they had in mind. Sanchez brought Abdulaziz Hatem in for Yusuf Abdurisag and the Rayyan midfielder, one of the stars of the Asian Cup, had an instant impact. A Qatar attack saw Almoez release Abdulkarim Hassan who squared the ball into a dangerous area and Hatem, lurking behind, smashed the ball into the roof of the net with a sweetly struck leftfooter. Hatem could have scored his second a few minutes later, but his right foot was not as classy as his left, and the shot was blocked. Qatar seemed to have had the bit between their teeth but Shareef Abdulkadhim almost caught them napping with a smart run on the inside left channel before being rushed into his shot, which went wide. Qatar continued on the offensive and came close to equalising in the 68th when a Hatem freekick proved too hot to handle for Iraqi substitute Amjed Attwan whose defensive header crashed on to the crossbar in the 68th. Al Annabi were going all out in search of the equaliser. Mohannad missed a chance, taking too long to pull the trigger and in the next moment, Qatar spurned an even bigger opportunity. Muntari was left open inside Iraq area with only the goalkeeper to beat but the lanky striker for some reason, opted to square the ball for Boudiaf, allowing Iraqi defence to clear the danger. Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said they need to work in the next matches to qualify for the semis. "Of course no one wants to lose, especially in such a game like this. You are playing at home in front of your fans. And its the first game in the competition and we know that we are the champions of Asia. But it does not give you the three points before the start of the game. You need to play," said Sanchez at the post match media conference. "What we can do is work hard in this strong group and ensure that we are stronger in the next game and take the points. "I believe we deserved something from this game because of the chances we create. we tried but as I said we need to be better in the next game. Qatar take on Yemen on Friday while Iraq play UAE.