Yves Bissouma's Mali were left to rue missed opportunities as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Zambia in their Africa Cup of Nations group stage opener on Monday afternoon.
Facing their first outing of the competition in Group A without captain Yves, Mali should have taken the lead three minutes before half-time as they were awarded a penalty. However, El Bilal Toure was unable to find a way past goalkeeper Willard Mwanzza from 12 yards with the goalkeeper producing the save.
They did find their way through Mwanza just after the hour mark with Lassine Sinayoko giving Mali a deserved lead after they had largely controlled proceedings. However, as they looked to see out the game in its latter stages, all their hard work was undone two minutes into stoppage time as a stunning diving header from Leicester City forward Patson Daka saw a share of the spoils in Casablanca.
Next up for Yves' Mali is the test of hosts Morocco in Rabat on Boxing Day (Friday 26th December) - 8pm kick-off (UK).