Bassam Alrawi (top) of Qatar vies for a header during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup round of 16 match between Qatar and Iraq in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 22, 2019. Qatar won 1-0 to progress through to the quarter finals. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

ABU DHABI, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Bassam Al Rawi's brilliant second-half free-kick saw Qatar beat Iraq 1-0 to seal a place in the quarterfinalS of 2019 AFC Asian Cup here on Tuesday.

Qatar's Almoez Ali, who nettd seven times in three group matches, failed to keep his impressive goal-scoring exploits. But Bassam Al-Rawi scored his second goal of the tournament.

Qatar should have broken through after four minutes but unmarked Abdelkarim Hassan's shot inside the box crashed onto the crossbar.

It was a defensive error that allowed Iraq to have the first real threat when Mohanad Ali wasted a one-on-one chance due to his bad first touch in the 23rd minute.

Qatar found the breakthrough after the break, Bassam Al Rawi curled an exquisite free kick into the bottom left corner in the 62nd minute.

Abdelkarim Hassan, who had always looked dangerous, almost set up a second goal for Qater when he met Akram Hassan Afif's fine through ball to smash an effort which was saved by keeper Jalal Hassan Hachim.

Although Iraq pushed hard and caused anxious moments for Qatar, they failed to find the net. Qatar held on to their lead to set up a quarterfinal against South Korea.