Australia won a World Cup game for the first time since 2010 with a hard-earned victory against Tunisia on Saturday.

The Socceroos kept their hopes of reaching the last 16 alive with a dogged performance in Qatar, keeping the Eagles of Carthage at bay and picking up their first points of the tournament.

A tense opening 20 minutes yielded little in way of chances, with Youssef Msakni dribbling the ball through the six yard box and out for a goal kick in the only real foray for either side early on.