AFCON 2025: Mali and Zambia settle for 1–1 draw in Group A opener
Written by Abidoye Babatunde Blackcoin on 22 — 12
Mali and Zambia played out a thrilling 1–1 draw in their opening Group C encounter of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, as both sides shared the spoils in an evenly contested match.
Patson Daka scored in the 92nd minute to save Zambia from a dramatic 1-1 draw against Mali in their Africa Cup of Nations opener in Casablanca. This means they’ve only lost one of their last six matchups against Mali.
Mali kicked things off with a chance just five minutes into the game when Dorgeles Nene had a shot, but it went just wide of the right post. The first half didn’t showcase much attacking action, and clear chances were rare. But around the half-hour mark, Zambia’s Benson Sakala came up big with a perfectly-timed tackle that stopped Lassine Sinayoko from getting a shot off when he had a clear look at goal.
As halftime approached, Mali had a golden chance to take the lead when Nene was brought down in the box by Mathews Banda. After a VAR check, a penalty was awarded, but Willard Mwanza came up huge with a brilliant save on El Bilal Touré’s shot, keeping things scoreless at the break.
Zambia struggled to make any noise offensively and didn’t register a shot until the 73rd minute, but they did a good job of defending against Mali’s pressure. Finally, just after the hour mark, Mali broke through. A corner kick found Touré all alone in the box, and after a bit of a scramble, Sinayoko managed to put the ball in from close range to put Mali ahead.
They nearly doubled their lead shortly after when Gaoussou Diarra had an acrobatic shot that Mwanza managed to collect. With Zambia having trouble getting anything going up front, it seemed like Mali’s goal would be enough for the win. However, in a nail-biting finish, Daka leveled the score in the second minute of stoppage time with a close-range header from a Banda cross, sending Zambia fans into a frenzy.
Mali was left regretting their missed chances, even though they could take some comfort in the fact that they’re now unbeaten in their last 14 AFCON opening matches, but they’ve already lost ground to group leaders Morocco.
