Talismanic forwards Gelson Dala and Knowledge Musona both scored as Angola and Zimbabwe each earned their first point in Group B at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Marrakech.
Dala, who netted four times at the 2023 finals, rifled Angola in front from To Carneiro’s chipped delivery as part of an incisive move, but returning Zimbabwe legend Musona masterfully controlled Bill Antonio’s arrowed pass to equalise with a ruthless finish during first-half added time.
Warriors goalkeeper Washington Arubi made an alert close-range save shortly after the break to prevent Jonathan Buatu from restoring his side’s lead from David Carmo’s knockdown.
Angola counterpart Hugo Marques also reacted excellently to tip Tawanda Chirewa’s strike behind late on, followed by a vital block by Carmo to stop Prince Dube from guiding the ball over the line from the ensuing corner.
Arubi was called into action again late on, first to keep out a curling effort from Milson and then to punch away Fredy’s free-kick.
Both teams play their final group-stage matches on Monday (16:00 GMT), when Zimbabwe face South Africa in Marrakech and Angola meet Egypt in Agadir.
The result between the Southern African hopefuls means the Pharaohs or Bafana Bafana will seal a place in the knockout stage if either wins their Group B showdown in Agadir on Friday (15:00 GMT) in their second games of the initial phase.
