Nigeria are Champions! 19 years after their last triumph in this competition, Nigeria win their third Africa Cup of Nations!
The showpiece pitches one
of the rank outsiders against a side who are slowly clawing their way back to
top of the tree on the continent.
FULL TIME! Nigeria 1 Burkina Faso 0
Minute by Minute account of the Match:
93 mins: With barely any time remaining Burkina Faso's Dagano
attempts to score with a free kick 40 yards out. He may have been better served
putting that ball into the box for the defenders to attack.
90 mins: The fourth offical announces four minutes of added time.
This game is not quite over yet.
89 mins: Substitution
for Nigeria: Goalscorer Sunday Mba
departs for former Everton defender Josephy Yobo.
Substitution for
Burkina Faso: Abdou Razzak Traore
enters the fray as Burkina Faso throw their final dice in this final.
86 mins: Within 30 seconds Musa puts in two fantastic balls
into the six yard box but Nigeria forwards could take neither chance. First a
heavy touch from Burkina Faso defender Kone saw saw the ball drop to Victor
Moses but the Chelsea striker couldn't sort his feet out.
Then Musa flashed another
ball across the box but Ideye wasn't brave enough to get on the end of the
ball.
82 mins: Ideye wastes a free kick lifting the ball high and
wide.
79 mins: Nigeria's goalscorer Sunday Mba attempts a shot from
30 yards out but it goes way over the bar.
76 mins: The game has opened up a lot more as Burkina Faso
push bodies forward in search of an equaliser. Nigeria could create something
on the counter-attack but are just unable to find the right pass.
73 mins: Oshinawa fouls Kabore just outside the box and gets a
card for his troubles. The resultant freekick is wasted by a poor delivery from
Kabore. But Burkina Faso have another corner, which Ambrose puts behind for
another corner. Bit of pressure here for Burkina. But from the next corner,
Nigeria clear and break. They should scores, but as Moses puts Musa in he falls
over under no pressure. But it's back down the other end, where Sanou forces Enyeama
into an excellent save.
70 mins: Burkina Faso win a corner, but it's over hit by
Koulibaly and Nigeria clear the danger.
69 mins: Burkina Faso just can't test Enyeama, for all
Pitroipa's skill. I don't think he's made a save yet. Nigeria are defending
solidly.
67 mins: A great run from Moses down the right. He drives into
the box, brushes off a defender and stands a cross up from the byline. But it's
too high for Musa. Great stuff from Moses.
64 mins: Substitution
for Nigeria: Juwan Oshaniwa replaces
left-back Uwa Echiejile, who is injured. Substitution for Burkina Faso: Rouamba
comes off to be replaced by Wilfried Sanou
62 mins: It's a freekick for Burkina Faso near the left corner
flag after Pitroipa is fouled. The balls fired in hard, but Mikel is there for
Nigeria with a mighty header to clear.
60 mins: Burkina Faso press, but Nigeria handle it without too
much difficulty. And then it's Nigeria's turn to push forward, Ideye just
getting squeezed out by Kone on the edge of the Burkina box.
58 mins: Burkina Faso win a freekick about 25 yards out near
the left touchline. Kabore whips in an excellent cross, Bance meets it, but can
only direct his header into the arms of Enyeama in the Nigerian goal. Better
from the Stallions, though.
56 mins: Moses should have scored here for Nigeria. He's
played in, and has a lot of time to either shoot or take it past the defender.
In the end, he dawdles, and shoots it straight into Panandetiguiri. His
teammates are furious.
54 mins: Substitution
for Nigeria: Ahmed Musa on for
Ikechukwu Uche
53 mins: Nigeria have a corner, but make nothing of it.
Burkina Faso break, and Nakoulma is running through, but then he's blown up for
a handball.
51 mins: Burkina Faso come forward and Bance picks it up on
the right hand side. He drives forward, but then can't decide whether to shoot
or to cross. He does neither, really, and the ball is out for a goal kick.
49 mins: Big chance for Nigeria. Moses took the ball down the
right wing, cut inside and fired a fast pass into Ideye. He turned and shot
across the goal, but Diakite just got enough on it to stop it creeping in at
the far post. Good stuff from Nigeria, and that was nearly curtains for Burkina
Faso.
47 mins: A fairly quiet start to the half. Nigeria are
controlling the play well, while Burkina Faso have resorted to long balls.
They're not really going anywhere though.
Half time: And that's it for the half. Not a great game by any
means. Cagey and low on quality. But Mba's goal was very well taken, and Nigeria
are good value for their lead. See you for the second half.
45 mins: Burkina Faso are definitely looking more menacing
now, but without creating any clear-cut chances. Two added minutes in this
half.
43 mins: Now Burkina Faso go close, but Bance strays offside.
And then Pitroipa finds himself with the ball at his feet in the box, but can't
quite turn or find a teammate and the chance is gone. A good response from the
Stallions though.
40 mins: GOAL FOR
NIGERIA! Nigeria 1 Burkina Faso 0 Nigeria
are in front. They break, and Uche finds Moses on the edge of the box. He
shoots, but it's blocked. Then Sunday Mba picks it up, tips it over the leg of
the first defender and slots it into the bottom left corner. Very well-taken
from Mba.
39 mins: Kabore and Pitroipa try to combine, but it's cut out
easily enough. Ogenyi Onanzi has a yellow card for a late tackle. From the
freekick, Kone heads wide when he should have hit the target. Better from
Burkina Faso though.
36 mins: More of the same. Nigeria are controlling the game,
but without much penetration. Ambrose tries a long ball to Uche, but it goes
out for a goal kick.
33 mins: The first yellow card of the game goes to Burkina
Faso's Florent Rouamba. He can have no complaints, having hacked Moses down
moments earlier.
32 mins: Ambrose strides forward with the ball, and attempts
to release Moses with a through ball. But he over-hits it slightly, and the
chance is gone. Nigeria are on top, now.
30 mins: Nigeria set up camp in the Burkina Faso half. A nice
turn from Uche allows him to pop a through-ball to Ideye, but the ball just
runs away from the striker. Good stuff from Nigeria.
28 mins: Bance hits it hard, low and wide. It would have taken
something very special from that distance, and Bance's effort was not very
special.
27 mins: Burkina Faso are coming back into the game slightly,
with Kabore looking increasingly influential. And now they win a freekick,
dead-centre, about 35 yards out...
25 mins: Burkina Faso finally get the ball, and Bance shoots
from distance. It flies over the bar.
23 mins: Nigeria are putting a bit of pressure on here. They
are camped in the Burkina Faso half, and having a lot of ball, without quite
converting it into real chances. There's a sense they're turning the screw
though.
20 mins: Farcical play from Paul Koulibaly in the Burkina Faso
defence. He tries a backheel on the edge of his own box, which ends up putting
Ideye in. The move comes to nothing, but that was absurdly risky from
Koulibaly. Then Nigeria attack again, with Moses getting round the back on the
left side. Diakite spills his low cross, but regathers just before Ideye
pounces. Good stuff from Nigeria, who are on top.
17 mins: The corner comes to nothing and Nigeria clear. John
Obi Mikel tries to find Ideye in the box for Nigeria, but his touch lets him
down and it's a goal-kick.
16 mins: There's not an enormous amount of action in this game
so far, but then finals are often cagey affairs. Both teams lack a killer pass,
and moves are breaking down too easily. But now Burkina Faso have a corner
after Pitropia's incisive pass to Aristide Bance is cut out.
13 mins: Pitroipa looks lively for Burkina Faso. Nigeria win
possession and almost unleash Ikechukwu Uche, but he's blown for offside. A
close call, but the correct one.
10 mins: Ambrose, who is central to Nigeria's good work at the
moment, brings it forward. He slips it to Victor Moses, who gets to the byline.
His cross is cut out and it goes for a corner. And from the corner there's an
almighty error as Diakate drops the ball under pressure from Ideye, who can't
get the loose ball on target. What a chance that was!
7 mins: Nigeria go close after winning a freekick about 30
yards out on the right hand side. It's whipped in, and Ambrose rises, but heads
rather tamely over the bar. Should have done better, perhaps.
6 mins: Nigeria have the first corner of the game after
Bakary Kone slices his clearance out. Nothing comes of it, though.
4 mins: A fairly low-key start from both teams, with no one
really managing to take control of midfield. Charles Kabore considers having a
shot for Burkina Faso from about 25 yards out, but by the time he pulls the
trigger he's been closed down.
Kick-off: Nigeria get things underway, and then spend a couple
of minutes knocking it about before fullback Efe Ambrose puts in a dangerous
looking cross which is claimed by Daouda Diakite in the Burkina Faso goal.
18.28: All the formalities are out of the way, and we're
ready to go.
18.24: FIFA President Sepp Blatter is out meeting the teams,
and we're ready for the national anthems.
18.21: We're nearly ready to go. It looks like there are
more Nigerian fans in the stadium than for Burkina Faso, as the teams take the
field.
18.17: Soccer City is noisy, the sounds of vuvuzelas
droning across the ground. It's a dry, reasonably cool evening. Much will
depend on how Nigeria cope with the loss of Emenike, while for Burkina Faso,
Pitroipa will have a big role to play. Incidentally, his red card in the
semi-final was for diving. The referee contacted the tournament organisers
afterwards to say he'd made a mistake and asked for the card to be rescinded.
18.04: So it's the Super Eagles v the Stallions. These teams
have already played each other once in the tournament. That game finished 1-1.
Burkina Faso went on to win the group.
17.58: Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Africa Cup
of Nations final between Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Nigeria were impressive in
their 4-1 defeat of Mali in the semi-finals, while surprise package Burkina
Faso stunned Ghana with a penalty-shootout victory. Nigeria will start
favourites, you'd think, but they are without striker Emmanuel Emenike, out
through injury. Chelsea's Victor Moses plays despite an ankle knock. For
Burkina Faso, Jonathan Pitroipa starts after his semi-final red card was
rescinded. We kick off at 1830.
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