1959 African Cup of Nations

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]}

1959 African Cup of Nations

1959كأس أمم أفريقيا
Tournament details
Host country	United Arab Republic
Dates	22–29 May
Teams	3
Venue(s)	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(s)	Ad-Diba
← 1957 1962 →

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.

Participating teams

Participating nations

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in tournament[a]
United Arab Republic	Hosts	1957	1 (1957)
Ethiopia	Invitee	1957	1 (1957)
Sudan	Invitee	1957	1 (1957)

Notes

1. Bold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host.

Squads

Main article: 1959 African Cup of Nations squads

Venues

Cairo	Cairo
Prince Farouk Stadium
Capacity: 25,000

Final tournament

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Result
United Arab Republic (H)	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5	4	Champion
Sudan	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	2
Ethiopia	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(H) Hosts

Win=2 Points

22 May 1959

United Arab Republic	4–0	Ethiopia
El-Gohary 29', 42', 73' El-Sherbini 64'	[[[Category:All articles with unsourced statements]][citation needed] Report]

Prince Farouk Stadium, Cairo

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Zivko Bajic (Yugoslavia)

---

25 May 1959

Sudan	1–0	Ethiopia
Drissa 40'	[[[Category:All articles with unsourced statements]][citation needed] Report]

Prince Farouk Stadium, Cairo

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: M. Tsissis (Greece)

---

Main article: United Arab Republic v Sudan (1959 African Cup of Nations)

29 May 1959

United Arab Republic	2–1	Sudan
Baheeg 12', 89'	[[[Category:All articles with unsourced statements]][citation needed] Report]	Manzul 65'

Prince Farouk Stadium, Cairo

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Zivko Bajic (Yugoslavia)

Scorers

3 goals

• Mahmoud El-Gohary

2 goals

• Essam Baheeg

1 goal

• Mimi El-Sherbini
• Abdelmutaleb Nasir
• Siddiq Manzul