Following a glitzy opening ceremony with Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani also in attendance at the Lusail Stadium on Friday, the two forwards stole the show to kick off the tournament with three points in the bag for the hosts.
A giant replica of the Asian Cup went on show in a spectacular opening ceremony in Lusail. (AP PHOTO)
Qatar thought they'd scored early through the 2019 tournament's top scorer Ali, the crowd going ballistic when he found the net, but the euphoria died down quickly when it dawned the linesman's flag was up for offside.
The hosts dominated the opening stages but Lebanon slowly found their footing, with veteran skipper Hassan Maatouk firing a warning shot straight at Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.
Afif was the busiest player in the final third, staying two steps ahead of the Lebanon defence by finding space and creating plenty of chances which were wasted while the playmaker also had a header graze the crossbar.
But his persistence finally paid off on the stroke of halftime when Ali trapped the ball inside the box, saw an unmarked Afif arrive and backed away for his 27-year-old strike partner to fire home.
Ali, who scored nine in the 2019 tournament, doubled Qatar's lead 11 minutes after the restart, heading home a delightful cross from Mohammed Waad.
Afif sealed the victory in stoppage time when he pounced on a botched clearance and easily accelerated past a tiring Lebanon defence before applying a calm finish to make it 3-0.
