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Who are the six greatest teams in Afcon history?

Only admitted into international football in the early 90s following the end of the apartheid regime, South Africa rode the wave of national optimism to win the title on home soil in 1996.It was their first—and remains their only—success in the competition, as Tunisia were dispatched in a memorable final, with Mark Williams scoring the decisive goals.The Rainbow Nation’s finest team were nicknamed the ‘Nation Builders’ as an acknowledgement of what their early triumph did for nationhood in the new South Africa, and they followed up Afcon success by reaching the World Cup in 1998 and 2002.

South Africa 1996

The greatest shock in Nations Cup history came in 2012, when Zambia’s Chipolopolo clinched Afcon gold for the first time.Unfancied heading into the tournament, Herve Renard’s side paid homage to their country’s fallen heroes of the 1993 plane crash that wiped out a promising generation of Zambian stars as they progressed through the tournament.Somehow they dispatched Ghana in the semi-final—with Asamoah Gyan missing another penalty—while fate appeared to be on their side in the final as the Ivory Coast endured penalty heartache with Kolo Toure and Gervinho both missing decisive spot kicks.

Zambia 2012

Nigeria’s greatest team won continental gold in the mid-90s, bringing the Afcon title back to Lagos for the first time since their maiden success in 1980.Triumph over Zambia in the ’94 final—with Emmanuel Amuneke putting on a masterclass to net twice—was followed up by a run to the knockout stages of the World Cup later that year, and then Olympic gold in 1996.The team should have achieved more, although withdrawing from the ’96 Afcon and then being banned for the next edition certainly slowed their momentum.

Nigeria 1994

Still remembered fondly in Ghana as the country’s greatest side, the Ghana team of the early-to-mid 60s was the last to retain the Nations Cup before Cameroon at the turn of the century.Littered with great names, including Osei Kofi, Wilberforce Mfum and Edward Aggrey-Fynn, they defeated Sudan in the ’63 final, and followed that up by beating Tunisia two years later.They remain the gold standard by which Black Stars sides are measured.

Ghana 63-65

The Indomitable Lions became the first team in almost 40 years to retain the Nations Cup when they dispatched Senegal in the 2002 final.That victory—which came following a penalty shootout in Bamako—came two years after Cameroon had eclipsed Nigeria to win the 2000 title, with an Olympic triumph in Australia in 2000 sandwiched in between.Samuel Eto’o, Patrick Mboma and Rigobert Song were some of the key names in that side, but their glorious run ended—in tragedy—with the death of Marc-Vivien Foe at the 2003 Confederations Cup.

Cameroon 00-02

The Pharaohs’ three-in-a-row champions are—without doubt—the greatest team in Nations Cup history, and the only ones to win the continental championship for three consecutive editions.Their Golden Generation contained the likes of Ahmed Hassan, Mohamed Aboutrika, Essam El Hadary, Ahmed Fathy and Mohamed Barakat—all Egyptian greats—while heroes such as Gedo and Emad Moteab weighed in with crucial goals as they twice retained their continental crown.It’s a great shame that this magnificent Egypt side, which boasted many players who plied their trade in their homeland, never made it to a World Cup.

Egypt 2006-10

 | Goal.com Nigeria

GOAL&apos;s Ed Dove remembers the iconic teams who have gone down in history following their exploits at the Africa Cup of Nations

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