Cameroon walked away with the African Cup of Nations championship after defeating Egypt 2-1 in what was a disappointing final for Egypt’s national team. Unlike previous games that saw the Pharaohs scoring in the last minutes, Mohamed Elneny — who sat out the last two games due to injury — scored in the 22nd minute (watch) on the back of strong play from Amr Warda and Mohamed Salah. The goal put Egypt at ease and the second half of the match saw the Pharaohs’ performance lose its luster. Cameroon managed to get two shots past goalkeeper Essam El Hadary at the 59th and 88th minutes. 44-year-old El Hadary, whose return to the national team for the championship brought back warm, fuzzy memories of Egypt’s last Afcon win in 2010, was named Best Goalkeeper for the fourth time in his career.

“They asked me to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations and play it; they didn’t ask me to win it,” said head coach Héctor Cúper. In a piece by the Guardian which juxtaposes the downward spirals in the fortunes of both Cúper and the national team over the past few years, the head coach discusses what was at stake in the tournament, and how, even in second place, the team beat all the odds and resurrected his career.