Qatar bounced back from their 2-1 loss to Iraq with an emphatic 6-0 win over Yemen in the group's evening match.

The win confirmed Iraq's place in the semi-finals as they now top the group with six points while UAE and Qatar will face off on Monday to decide the second team to advance to the last four stage.

Ali Mabkhout scored a hat-trick as United Arab Emirates defeated Yemen 3-0 to move to the top of the Group A standings as the 24th edition of the tournament got off to a spectacular start.

Defending champions Oman were held to a goalless draw by Bahrain in the other Group B match with both teams failing to put away their chances.

Mabkhout continued his recent vein of rich form by scoring a hat-trick in UAE's 3-0 win over Yemen in their opener on Tuesday.

The striker, who last month became UAE's leading scorer, has scored six goals in the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

The AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 winners were stunned 2-1 by Srecko Katanec's Iraq and have to defeat Yemen on Friday to reignite their hopes.

"I am confident that we will bounce back. The defeat is disappointing but it wasn't because we didn't try," said Sanchez as Qatar suffered their first defeat to an Asian team in 2019.

Hosts Qatar are in Group A with United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Iraq, while defending champions Oman, 10-time winners Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are in Group B.

The top two sides from each group will advance to the semi-finals with the final on December 8 at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Oman were drawn with 10-time winners Kuwait in Group B along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Oman won their second title in January 2018 when the tournament was held in Kuwait after defeating UAE 5-4 on penalties in the final.