Nigeria ended the African Nations Cup in third place after winning the battle of the losing semi-finalists against Algeria in Benguela.
Victor Obinna scored the only goal early in the second half.
The only goal came after 56 minutes when the Malaga striker was played in by Nwankwo Kanu in what was a low-key affair.
Under-fire Nigeria coach Shaibu Amodu made a host of changes heading into the game, leaving out the likes of John Obi Mikel, Obafemi Martins and Peter Odemwingie and handing Portsmouth striker Kanu a rare start.
His side looked the more attacking of the two and created the first opening in the ninth minute when Taye Taiwo's free-kick from the right to managed to pick out Obinna, who directed his sweeping shot over the crossbar.
Seconds later the striker was again played in inside the six-yard box via a long ball from the back, but this time his shot was excellently blocked by Slimane Raho.
Algeria had a decent chance after 25 minutes when Karim Ziani threaded a pass through to Abdelkader Ghezzal, but his effort was charged down - this time Danny Shittu throwing his body in the way.
On the half-hour mark, the game finally saw its first shot on target - Kanu cutting inside from the right and leaving his marker stranded before unleashing a powerful shot that was straight at Mohamed Zemmamouche.
An action-packed five minutes before half-time saw the Desert Hawks hit the target the with a weak Hassan Yebda shot straight at Vincent Enyeama, followed by Kalu Uche getting the ball in the net only to be ruled out for offside.
The last action of the opening 45 minutes saw Almeria striker Uche put clean through on goal by Kanu, but he opted to seek out Obinna instead of shooting from eight yards out with the with the goal gaping
Nigeria almost broke the deadlock straight from the restart when a Taiwo free-kick was only parried straight into the path of Obinna by Zemmamouche, but the finish bounced into the ground before glancing the crossbar on its way out.
The goal finally arrived in the 56th minute when Kanu played the ball to Obinna and his forceful run ended with a shot under the goalkeeper to put his side ahead.
Rabah Saadane's men tried to respond with Ziani teeing up Yebda on the edge of the box, but his shot was too comfortable for the Enyeama.
Algeria continued to pile on the pressure and created half-chances for the hard-working Ghezzal and Madjid Bougherra, but it was not enough to carve out an equaliser.
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