TANZANIA’S HOPES OF a first Africa Cup of Nations win after 44 years were dashed when 10-man Zambia snatched a late 1-1 Group F draw in San-Pedro.
Simon Msuva scored after 11 minutes for Tanzania, but Zambia overcame the red-carding of captain Roderick Kabwe before half-time to equalise on 88 minutes through Patson Daka.
Earlier in the day, Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo also drew 1-1, leaving all four teams with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.
Morocco have four points, DR Congo and Zambia two each and Tanzania one ahead of the final group matches on Wednesday in the Ivory Coast.
Achraf Hakimi had given heavily-fancied Morocco an early lead in San-Pedro, in the south-western corner of Ivory Coast, and Cedric Bakambu missed a penalty for the Congolese before the interval.
But substitute Silas Katompa Mvumpa, of German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart, swept home the equaliser on 76 minutes to ensure a share of the spoils.
Tanzania, meanwhile were coached by caretaker Hemed Suleiman after Adel Amrouche was suspended by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), then fired by the Tanzanian Football Federation.
CAF banned the Algerian coach for eight matches after he claimed in a TV interview that Moroccan officials were influencing the appointment of match officials and kick-off times.
Both teams showed three changes after disappointing debuts four days ago in a group including shock 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco.
Tanzania collapsed against Morocco in the closing stages when reduced to 10 men by a red card and fell 3-0 while Zambia were fortunate to draw 1-1 with DR Congo.
Since stunning the Ivory Coast in a 2012 final decided by a penalty shootout, Zambia have failed to win in eight Cup of Nations matches, and did not qualify for the past three editions.
Tanzania went into this match with the dismal record of one draw and six losses from three appearances at the African football showpiece.
Zambia began the match in the southwestern coastal city as favourites to win their first Cup of Nations meeting with lower ranked Tanzania, but were soon trailing.
The Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) surrendered possession cheaply inside their half and a swift counter-attack set up unmarked Msuva to slam the ball over goalkeeper Lawrence Mulenga.
Msuva scored two of the three goals that qualified the Taifa Stars for the tournament, but he has been without a club since leaving Algerian side JS Kabylie last September.
A disappointing opening half for Zambia worsened one minute before half-time when Kabwe was sent off after being yellow-carded a second time.
The second caution came after Kabwe elbowed rival captain Mbwana Samatta, and the Zambian protested furiously for several minutes before leaving the pitch.
In the aftermath of the sending-off, the Benin referee yellow-carded angry Zambia coach Avram Grant, the former Chelsea and West Ham United manager.
Daka, the most high-profile Zambian having played in the Premier League with Leicester City, burst toward goal just past the hour mark and forced a good save from Aisha Manula.
Zambian pressure finally paid off through Daka, whose powerful near-post header from a corner gave Manula no chance.
Meanwhile, Ghana head into tomorrow’s crucial meeting with Mozambique desperate to avoid a repeat of their disastrous early exit from the tournament two years ago.
The Black Stars have just one point so far in Group B after following a 2-1 loss to Cape Verde in their opening game by drawing 2-2 with Egypt.
Lose to a Mozambique side who have never won a game at the Cup of Nations, in 14 attempts, and four-time African champions Ghana will be eliminated.
A draw would also leave them facing likely elimination. While a victory in Abidjan might not lift Ghana into the top two places in the group, it would give them good chance of going through as one of the best third-placed teams.
“We are all aware that this is a situation that we would rather not be in,” Ghana coach Chris Hughton told reporters on Sunday.
“We would rather have more points, and we feel certainly from the performances and the goals we have conceded that we should be in a better position, but we are not.
“The conversation is not difficult. This is a game we have to win.”
Elsewhere, South Africa cruised to a 4-0 win over Namibia to get their campaign back on track.
After going down 2-0 to Mali in their opener, Bafana Bafana got off the mark at the second attempt as Themba Zwane hit a brace after Percy Tau’s early penalty, with Thapelo Maseko adding a fourth in the second half.
