DOHA: Khalfan Ibrahim scored just past the hour mark as Qatar defeated Australia 1-0, their first ever win over the Socceroos, in an international friendly at the Lekhwiya Stadium on Tuesday.

Australia had ended up the winners in three of their four prior meetings, with the only other game ending in a draw.

Djamel Belmadi’s boys thus continued their winning streak, having seen off Lebanon and Uzbekistan 5-0 and 3-0 respectively in their previous friendlies.

The matches were part of Qatar’s preparations for the Gulf Cup (Riyadh) and Asian Cup (Australia), to be played next month and in January respectively.

Qatar had only 46 per cent possession, but looked more organised at the back and cohesive in attack throughout.

Australia, who played out a goalless draw with the UAE earlier last week, did not look convincing in their passing and were quite wayward in finishing.

Tim Cahill and James Troisi came close with their close-range attempts, but they could not beat Qasim Burhan who had an impressive day under the bar.