Hosts Tunisia won the African Nations Cup for the first time on Saturday, beating Morocco 2-1 to be crowned continental champions almost 40 years after they appeared in their first final.

Ziad Jaziri got the winning goal in the second half, profiting from a bad error by the Moroccan goalkeeper Khalid Fouhami.

He failed to clear a 52nd-minute cross by the Brazilian-born left wing Clayton, just getting a hand to the ball to set it up perfectly for the onrushing Jaziri to tap into the net.

Tunisia's keeper Ali Boumnijel put the triumph down to team spirit.

"We've been together for two years, through good times and bad, and the squad have always held firm, despite any criticism," he said.

"The desire was extraordinary right through to the end."

Tunisia, roared on by an almost capacity crowd at the 60,000-seater stadium, had begun at a frenetic pace and were ahead after just five minutes when Francileudo dos Santos headed in a cross.

Dos Santos, also born in Brazil but whose nationality had been fast-tracked to allow him to play in the tournament, found space between the defenders to loop his header home.

Tunisia should have been further ahead soon after but Dos Santos scuffed an easy chance and Jaziri was flagged offside when he broke away, television replays suggesting the linesman's decision was wrong.

The spurned chances almost proved costly as Morocco rallied to equalise through Youssef Mokhtari, his fourth goal of the tournament a diving header from Youssef Hadji's 38th-minute cross from the byline.

VIRTUAL UNKNOWN

The Germany-based Mokhtari had been a virtual unknown before the tournament and was playing in only his ninth international.

Morocco struggled to launch a second comeback, consistently reaching the edge of the box but then running up against a tight Tunisian defence.

Tunisia missed several late chances to add a third goal with quick counters, then held out during four minutes of stoppage time to spark wild celebrations.

Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre, whose news conference lasted little more than a minute, said: "Above all I want to thank all the players, who everyday respected the commitments they made to me.

"They have made history. So have the coaching staff and, of course, all Tunisians. The match is only a detail, today is a day of joy for the whole Tunisian nation and I'm delighted about this historic moment. They did it."

Captain Khaled Badra, suspended for the final, lifted the trophy with midfielder Riadh Bouazizi, skipper for the day and outstanding in midfield.

Morocco defender Walid Regragui, meanwhile, summed up the frustration of his team mates, whose slick football deserted them in a nervy start to both halves.

"We didn't feel they were superior to us," Regragui told reporters. "They didn't give anything away and played to their strengths. Good for them.

"In footballing terms, it's not as if we learned anything today."

Tunisia were hosting the Nations Cup finals for the third time and had been runners-up in 1965.

They were also in the 1996 final in Johannesburg, two years after they had spectacularly failed on home soil in the 1994 edition by failing to progress from the first round.