All the greatest moments from the Africa Cup of Nations

Continental showpiece has given us thrills, tragedy, glorious triumphs, and Pele and Hassan

HOSTS Angola made the perfect start to the 2010 African Cup of Nations tournament, and were cruising in the opening match against Mali.

The Angolans had sailed into a 4- 0 lead by the 74th minute and looked destined to make a big statement of intent thanks to a brace from Flavio Amado and goals from Sebastiao Gilberto and Manucho.

However, they went to sleep for the rest of the match, as Mali produced a stunning comeback. The West African side scored four goals in the last 10 minutes, including two in stoppage time, through Seydou Keita (2), Frederic Kanoute and Mustapha Yatanare to stun the home crowd.

“I still can’t believe it happened. I’ve never seen anything like this. How can any team throw a 4-0 lead in such a short period of time? This is the most awkward thing I have ever seen during my 40-year old career,” Angola coach Manuel Jose said after the match. SUNDAY MBA quenched Nigeria's thirst for a major trophy with a magnificent solo effort in the 2013 African Cup of Nations final against Burkina Faso.

With the game still in the balance at 0-0, Mba controlled a botched clearance by the Burkina Faso defence with his right knee, before beating his defender with a delicate chip with his left foot and then finishing off brilliantly with his left boot.

Mba’s most important strike of his career was a finalist for Fifa's Goal-of-the-year award for 2013.

“It was a goal worthy of winning any match, and Sunday Mba’s Caf Africa Cup of Nations- winning strike brought joy and relief to an entire nation,” was recorded on Fifa.com.

“Nigeria had not won a major trophy in 19 years going into the continental showpiece, but despite the best efforts of debutant finalists Burkina Faso, Mba’s precise volley – after flicking the ball over his opponent’s head – proved sufficient to secure the African crown,” football’s world governing body said. EPIC: Angola's goalkeeper Fernandes Carlos Alberto (in blue) dives over teammate Kali as Mali’s players fight for the ball during the opening match of Afcon 2010 in Luanda. Mali incredibly fought back from 0-4 down to draw 4-4 with the host nation. TRAGEDY: A video grab from Angolan TV shows players from Togo’s national soccer squad comforting one another after gunmen opened fire on the team bus, killing three WORLD football was shocked before the start of the 2010 edition in Angola when rebels ambushed the Togolese team bus and fired machine-gun rounds, killing three and injuring nine others.

According to reports, the team had crouched under their bus seats for 30 minutes as bullets rattled the bus.

This was also just six months before South Africa would host the World Cup on African soil for the first time.

Star striker Emmanuel Adebayor said the attack was “one of the worst things I've ever been through in my life”, as he had to carry his screaming teammates into the hospital. Togo subse- quently withdrew from the tournament only a few days ahead of their opener against

Ghana. GHANA were the overwhelming favourites to win the title in Senegal, as 12 countries – in four groups of three – took part in the 1992 edition.

Abedi Pele lived up to his billing as the best player in Africa and steered the Black WINNER: Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan won four titles.

MEMORABLE: Sunday Mba of Nigeria has scored arguably the greatest-ever goal in Afcon history, a superb strike which handed Nigeria the 2013 title. Stars to the final. However, he was suspended for the showpiece match after picking up a second yellow card in the semifinal win over arch- rivals Nigeria.

Ivory Coast finished top of their group after beating defending champions Algeria and drawing with Congo-Brazzaville. However, both their quarter- final and semi- final matches were won on penalties, this prepared them for what was to come in the final.

After a goalless 120 minutes, all 11 players on each side were involved in the penalty shoot-out. With the score at 1010, Ghana’s Tony Baffoe missed his kick, before Basile Aka Kouamé scored the winner with the 24th spot kick of the shoot-out. THE CONTINENT has produced many superstars who have gone on to enthral the world with their special talents. Abedi Pele is arguably still the best player to come out of Africa, as he was the continent's first true global superstar. But for all his individual achievements, the Ghanaian legend only won the Afcon trophy once.

Ahmed Hassan, however, is probably the player who had the biggest influence on the biennial showpiece.

The pint- sized playmaker played in eight Afcons and won four tournaments with Egypt – in 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010. The last of his winners' medals came at the age of 34.

The 2006 edition was arguably his best tournament, when as captain, he scored four goals en route to another Afcon title.

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