Nigeria captures third place at African Cup with 1-0 win over Algeria

BENGUELA, Angola — Nigeria defeated fellow World Cup qualifier Algeria 1-0 on Saturday to wrap up third place at the African Cup of Nations.
Victor Obinna scored in the 56th minute for Nigeria, which bounced back from a 1-0 loss to Ghana in the semifinals. Ghana will face defending champion Egypt in Sunday's final.
Algeria was without Faouzi Chaouchi, Rafik Halliche and Nadir Belhadj after they were sent off in a 4-0 semifinal loss to Egypt, and Nigeria gradually took a grip on the match.
In the 51st minute, Obinna hit the bar from close range after Taye Taiwo's free kick had been poorly cleared. Nigeria was finally rewarded for its efforts when Obinna burst through the Algeria defence from the edge of the box and slipped the ball into the goal.
The championship match in Luanda will feature an upstart in Ghana that hasn't won the continental crown since 1982, and an Egypt team that is trying to give coach Hassan Shehata three straight African Cup of Nations titles.
"It's going to be hard for us but we are ready to overcome the challenge," Shehata's assistant Shawky Gharib said. "We came here only to defend our title."
Ghana has been led by Andre Ayew, the son of Ghana great Abedi Pele, who scored the goal against Burkina Faso that put his team into the quarter-finals.
"I think we have done very well in this tournament. Most of the guys are hungry," Ayew said. "They were presented with an opportunity and they grabbed it."