Captain Abdelkarim Hassan scored twice in the second half as hosts Qatar made the ideal start to the AFC U23 Championship after recording a 3-1 comeback win over China at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa (Lekhwiya) Stadium yesterday.

A superb free-kick from Guangzhou Evergrande’s Liao Lisheng had opened the scoring for China just before half-time, with both sides looking to match Iran’s earlier 2-0 win over Syria in the Group A opener.

The top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil as the AFC representatives.

Photo: People are excitingly waiting for the match to start

Qatar will face Iran on Friday, Jan 15.

Tickets to the matches can be bought online

Here's more photos from the opening ceremony:

Photo: Nike’s latest generation match ball - the Ordem 3

Make sure you come support your country or just come enjoy a match!

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