After almost two decades of bad fortune at the African Cup of Nations, Nigeria returned to the top of African football with a bit of magic against Burkina Faso in the 2013 decider in South Africa on Sunday.
Sunday Mba’s goal late in the first half made the difference in the final and was enough to secure a 1-0 victory. The midfielder produced a master-piece in front of an 87 000-strong crowd at Soccer City in Johannesburg when his left-foot volley found the far right corner of the net.
Nigeria did well even without its key striker Emanuel Emenike, who was forced to miss the game due to injury. It didn’t stop the Spartak Moscow star from becoming the best goal scorer of the tournament with four goals in five games.
Another man behind Nigeria’s success, Stephen Keshi, who captained Nigeria to its last African Cup crown in 1994, has now lifted the trophy as a coach.
As for Burkina Faso, underdogs before the tournament they fell short of repeating Zambia’s surprise win at the previous Cup of Nations.
They progressed beyond the group stage for only the second time in the tournament’s history and then beat continental powers Togo and Ghana on their way to the final. – RT
