Zambia kicked off their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro on Wednesday night.
The Chipolopolo took the lead in the 23rd minute following a disastrous defending in the DR Congo backline.
Goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi dashed out to clear a ball and was left helpless after challenging Leicester City attacker Patson Daka, who took a quick throw-in, which resulted in Red Star Belgrade midfielder Kings Kangwa lashing the ball into an empty net from outside the box.
However, DR Congo responded quickly as they levelled four minutes later after Cedric Bakambu broke the offside trap and fired a ball across the face of the goal, which Brentford’s Yoane Wissa tapped home from close range.
Wissa nearly got the winner minutes later when the ball came to him in the box, but Rodrick Kabwe made a fantastic goalline clearance.In the 60th minute. Ethiopian referee Bamlak Tessema gave DR Congo a penalty after Tandi Mwape seemed to handle the ball in the box after slipping, but VAR overruled the call.
The Leopards looked more likely to get a second with six shots on goal against one for Zambia but they could not find a winner. Zambia will face Tanzania on Sunday, while DR Congo will come.up against Morocco in the second round of the group-stage matches.