JOHANNESBURG (AP):

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

Sunday Mba's superb goal in the 40th minute delivered another triumph for coach Stephen Keshi after he captained Nigeria to their last African Cup crown in 1994.

"Winning this tournament is mainly for my nation," Keshi said.

"When I came on board a year and a half ago, my dream was to make all Nigerians happy."

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.

Underdog Burkina Faso fell short of what would have been a surprising triumph in their first final, having progressed beyond the group stage for only the second time at the African championship. The Burkinabes still exceeded all expectations by just making the final.

"Football is football. You have to be great when you win and humble when you lose," Burkina Faso coach Paul Put said. "Congratulations to Nigeria. Maybe we showed Nigeria too much respect."

Mba's goal came after Victor Moses' shot was blocked, and was worthy of deciding a final. In three swift motions, Mba controlled the ball, chipped it over Mohamed Koffi and then volleyed across goalkeeper Daouda Diakite and into the far right corner for the title-clinching goal.