Hosts United Arab Emirates suffered an unexpected defeat amid a capacity home crowd in Zayed Stadium in the capital Abu Dhabi.

Fawzi Bashir put Oman ahead with a powerful long-range drive in the 36th minute before setting up teammate Emad Al Hosani five minutes after restart.

Ismail Matar pulled one back for the below-par home side in the 63rd minute and Hilal Saied was sent off as the Emirates finished the game with ten men.

Later, underdogs Yemen held nine-time champions Kuwait to register the second surprise of the day.

Badr Al-Mutawaa salvaged the draw for Kuwait from a 74th minute penalty kick after Ali Alamqi but Yemen ahead in the 16th minute.

The results mean Oman are in charge of Group A with 3 points while Kuwait and Yemen share second spot with 1 point each and UAE trail with no points.

Group B, which includes Qatar, Saudi Arabi, Iraq and Bahrain, kicks off on Thursday.