It was Mali who had the first opportunity of the contest with just five minutes on the clock when Dorgeles Nene was picked out inside the area, but his effort went just wide of the right post.
The first period didn’t see much in the way of attacking quality, with very few clear-cut chances created.
However, on the half-hour mark, Zambia had Benson Sakala to thank when his perfectly-timed tackle prevented Lassine Sinayoko from getting a shot away from the edge of the area with a clear sight of goal.
Then, as half time approached, Mali were presented with a golden opportunity to take the lead when Nene was brought down inside the area by a rash challenge from Mathews Banda.
After a VAR check, a penalty was awarded, but El Bilal Touré’s spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Willard Mwanza, who got down low to his left to ensure the game remained goalless at the interval.
Despite struggling to make any impact on the game from an attacking perspective, Zambia - who failed to register a single shot until the 73rd minute - were doing well to keep Mali at bay.
However, just after the hour mark, the Eagles finally made their pressure tell.
A corner into the area somehow found Touré unmarked, and after struggling to get the ball out from under his feet, Sinayoko stepped in and saw his initial effort blocked. But the ball rebounded kindly into his path, and he fired home from close range to give Mali the lead.
They came close to doubling their advantage soon afterwards when Gaoussou Diarra’s acrobatic close-range effort was gathered by Mwanza.
Given Zambia’s shortcomings in attack, the opening goal looked likely to be enough for Mali to claim victory, but in the most dramatic of finishes, the Copper Bullets levelled proceedings in the second minute of stoppage time when Daka’s close-range header from a Banda cross found the net to send the Zambia supporters wild.
Mali were left to rue their earlier missed opportunities, with the fact that they’re now unbeaten in their last 14 AFCON opening fixtures scant consolation for losing ground on group leaders Morocco already.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Patson Daka (Zambia)