A first win in 30 years for the country at the finals came on Sunday when they beat Senegal 2-1 but it was not enough to see them into the last eight.
However, four points from their three games in Equatorial Guinea will have been beyond their wildest expectations less than year ago when their football federation headquarters were damaged in the bombing of Tripoli and their Brazilian coach and assistants had to flee the beleaguered capital.
"There is a great satisfaction in the victory because of the current situation in Libya," said coach Marcos Paqueta, who left for Brazil when the uprising against the Muammar Gaddafi regime broke out in February but returned without having being paid for seven months to lead his side to an unlikely qualification.
"This result is a good performance for Libya. It's a tribute to the work of the federation that has put in a lot of effort to ensure the players were in top conditions.
"We must commend the efforts of the players."
Paqueta had his squad preparing in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for two months before the Nations Cup finals and is keen to see out the rest of his four-year contract, signed ironically with Gaddafi's son in mid-2010.
"No big surprise like this happened in football since Denmark [winning the European Championships] in 1992," asserted Libyan Football Association secretary Ahmed Abdel Majid to Reuters.
