Mohamed Gedo scored the only goal five minutes from time to help Egypt defend their African Nations Cup crown with victory over brave Ghana.
It handed Hassan Shehata’s men a record seventh title and third in succession in Angola, but they were made to work hard for the success against a youthful Ghanaian side.
The game was decided by the prolific substitute Mohamed Gedo, who took his tally for the tournament to five and confirmed himself as top scorer, as he played a one-two with Mohamed Zidan, advanced into the box and curled a shot past Richard Kingson.
Egypt striker Mohamed Zidan hailed his generation, who are now unbeaten in 19 games in the competition, as the best ever after the game.
“In the end, the whole world looks at us like champions,” Zidan told reporters. “It is very important for our careers and for us together as a team, I am very proud. It is unbelievable. We have the best Egypt team of all time.
“Now if a team want to break our record, they will have to win it four times in a row and it’s almost impossible.”
Egypt were pipped by Algeria for a World Cup spot in a playoff last November but they beat four sides bound for this year’s finals in South Africa during their victorious campaign.
Consistency was key to that success, according to Zidan and assistant coach Hamada Sedki.
“We have had the same line up very game, the only changes would be because of injuries, that’s very important,” said Borussia Dortmund striker Zidan.
Sedki explained that his team flourishes in three-week tournaments.
“When we are in a tournament we have all the players with us,” he told a news conference. “We take care of them all the way, we can control everything, health, food, everything. The players are not just coming from their clubs for a few days.”
Egypt’s football, however, was kept in check by a young Ghana team boasting four players from the country’s Under-20 World Cup-winning squad.
“Our match was very good from the beginning but the most important thing was the result,” said Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac, who had to make do without John Mensah, John Paintsil, Stephen Appiah and Michael Essien. “They had more experience and they scored on our only mistake, when the full back did not cover his base,” he added.
