LUANDA, Angola — Egypt won the African Cup of Nations for the third straight time Sunday after substitute Mohamed Gedo scored in the 85th minute for a 1-0 victory over Ghana.

Gedo curled in a shot from within the area to give Egypt its record seventh title. No other team has won the biennial tournament three consecutive times.

World Cup qualifier Ghana, which had been hoping to earn its first continental crown since 1982, dominated for most of the match but failed to create clear-cut chances.

Fielding four members of the team that won the Under-20 World Cup last year, Ghana defended neatly and were able to move swiftly into the Egypt half. However, Ghana failed to support its strikers.

Asamoah Gyan, who scored Ghana's winners against both Angola and Nigeria in the previous stages, went close in the 52nd minute with a perfectly curled free kick that was tipped over the bar by El Hadary.

Gyan was a threat again in the 74th minute when he missed the target following a quick counterattack before forcing El Hadary to palm the ball away on a free kick.

Egypt finally broke the deadlock against the run of the play when Gedo, the top striker of the tournament with five goals, was perfectly set up on the left side of the box after a nice one-two and scored with a curling shot past goalkeeper Richard Kingson at the far post.

Egyptians players and members of their staff invaded the field at the final whistle while fans lit flares. Striker Mohamed Zidan was blocked by security officers as he tried to reach the stands and was unable to join Egypt's fans in their celebrations.