1959 African Cup of Nations

1959 African Cup of Nations
1959 كأس أمم أفريقيا
Tournament details
Host country	United Arab Republic
Dates	22–29 May
Teams	3
Venue	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	United Arab Republic (2nd title)
Runners-up	Sudan
Third place	Ethiopia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	3
Goals scored	8 (2.67 per match)
Attendance	80,000 (26,667 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Mahmoud El-Gohary ; (3 goals)
Best player	Ad-Diba
	← 1957 1962 →

The 1959 African Cup of Nations was the second edition of the Africa Cup of Nations,^[1]^[2] the football championship between the national teams of Africa, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It was hosted and won by the United Arab Republic, a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. Only three teams participated: host team United Arab Republic, Sudan, and Ethiopia.^[2] All three matches took place in Cairo.^{[citation needed]}

Overview

With only three teams, the format changed into a round robin group, but the results were the same, the United Arab Republic won over Ethiopia 4−0 and over Sudan 2−1. The Sudanese finished second, defeating Ethiopia 1−0.

Essam Baheeg scored the two winning goals for Egypt in the final

Mahmoud El-Gohary, who would later become manager of the Egyptian team between 1988 and 2002, would be the top scorer of this edition of the tournament.