Nigeria returned to the top of African football on Sunday by beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the Cup of Nations final for its first continental title in nearly two decades.

The Super Eagles, playing in the tournamernt finale for the seventh time, took the lead through Sunday Mba in the 40th minute and held on to secure their third continental crown, and their first since 1994.

Mba decided the game in front of around 87,000 fans at Soccer City with a left-foot volley into the far right corner after he expertly controlled a rebound and clipped the ball over a defender.

The result ended a dream run from the Berkinabe, who reached the semi-finals for only the second time in their history, before edging Ghana on penalties to book their place in the gold medal match.

Mali beat Ghana 3-1 in the third-place playoff in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.