Africa Cup of Nations 2015: Day 2 AFCON Scores, Results, Standings and Schedule

Day 2 of AFCON 2015 saw all of Group B hopefuls earn draws in their opening matches, setting up an exciting race for the two tickets to the knockout stages.

The 2012 champions took an early lead, but DR Congo grabbed a deserved equaliser in the second half. And despite a frantic battle in the final 20 minutes, neither team managed to grab a winner. With Group B being one of the more balanced groups of the tournament, both now face an uphill battle to progress to the next round.

In the late match, Cape Verde dominated the first half but tired considerably in the second, allowing Tunisia to take the lead. A penalty decision inside the final 15 minutes brought the Blue Sharks on level terms, and they held on for a well-deserved point.

Here's the fully updated schedule for AFCON 2015:

Date	Time (GMT/ET)	Stage	Fixture
Jan. 17	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group A	Equatorial Guinea 1-1 Congo
Jan. 17	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group A	Burkina Faso 0-2 Gabon
Jan. 18	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group B	Zambia 1-1 Congo DR
Jan. 18	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group B	Tunisia 1-1 Cape Verde Islands
Jan. 19	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group C	Ghana v Senegal
Jan. 19	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group C	Algeria v South Africa
Jan. 20	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group D	Ivory Coast v Guinea
Jan. 20	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group D	Mali v Cameroon
Jan. 21	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group A	Equatorial Guinea v Burkina Faso
Jan. 21	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group A	Gabon v Congo
Jan. 22	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group B	Zambia v Tunisia
Jan. 22	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group B	Cape Verde Islands v Congo DR
Jan. 23	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group C	Ghana v Algeria
Jan. 23	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group C	South Africa v Senegal
Jan. 24	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Group D	Ivory Coast v Mali
Jan. 24	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Group D	Cameroon v Guinea
Jan. 25	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group A	Congo v Burkina Faso
Jan. 25	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group A	Gabon v Equatorial Guinea
Jan. 26	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group B	Cape Verde Islands v Zambia
Jan. 26	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group B	Congo DR v Tunisia
Jan. 27	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group C	Senegal v Algeria
Jan. 27	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group C	South Africa v Ghana
Jan. 28	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group D	Cameroon v Ivory Coast
Jan. 28	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Group D	Guinea v Mali
Jan. 31	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Quarter-Final 1	Group A Winner v Group B Second Place
Jan. 31	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Quarter-Final 2	Group B Winner v Group A Second Place
Feb. 1	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Quarter-Final 3	Group C Winner v Group D Second Place
Feb. 1	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Quarter-Final 4	Group D Winner v Group C Second Place
Feb. 4	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Semi-Final 1	Quarter-Final 1 Winner v Quarter-Final 4 Winner
Feb. 5	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Semi-Final 2	Quarter-Final 2 Winner v Quarter-Final 3 Winner
Feb. 7	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Third-place	Semi-Final 1 Loser v Semi-Final 2 Loser
Feb. 8	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Final	Semi-Final 1 Winner v Semi-Final 2 Winner

The current group standings:

Group A	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Group B	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Group C	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Group D	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Gabon	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	3
2	Congo	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
2	Equatorial Guinea	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
4	Burkina Faso	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0
1	DR Congo	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
1	Zambia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
3	Cape Verde	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
3	Tunisia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
1	Algeria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Ghana	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Senegal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	South Africa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Cameroon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Guinea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Ivory Coast	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Mali	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Cape Verde 1-1 Tunisia

Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

Favourites Tunisia and Cape Verde also shared the spoils after a 1-1 draw, as all four teams in Group B sit level on points and goal difference after the first round of fixtures.

Cape Verde sent an early warning shot to the favourites, as Fernando Lopes dos Santos Varela hit the upright with a powerful header just minutes into the contest, via Soccer Laduma's Joe Crann:

Tunisia were playing with fire, handing possession to Cape Verde and sitting back, content to let play come to them. Solid work from Babanco saw the ball cleared from the Tunisian line, and a wild scrum inside the box somehow didn't result in the opening goal.

George Leekens' men aren't known as one of the flashier teams in the tournament, via Crann, but their first-half performance was simply subpar, even for their standards:

Despite Cape Verde's persistent pressure, they managed to conserve the clean sheet, however. Heldon Ramos thought he had been awarded a penalty for an appealing foul inside the half moon, but the official placed the ball just outside the box.

The Blue Sharks' pace slowly dropped, and by the time the first half was over, the action had slowed down to a halt.

The second half was the complete opposite of the first, with Tunisia increasing the pressure on Cape Verde, who looked tired after their first-half performance. Crann even suggested Leekens may have been planning this kind of game plan all along:

And when Ali Moncer put the team up 1-0 after 70 minutes, it seemed their patient approach would be rewarded. The forward reacted fastest to a sharp cross before blasting the ball into the roof of the net.

The Blue Sharks were now forced to commit players forward, opening themselves up to the counter-attack, but they were given a lifeline minutes later when the official pointed to the penalty spot for a foul on Heldon. Goal's Ed Dove pointed out this decision was as clear as can be:

He stepped up himself and riffled the ball into the top corner, tying things up with 10 minutes left to play.

Tunisia now pushed back forward, but a series of late substitutions stopped them from really throwing the sink at Cape Verde, who appeared content with the draw. One final free-kick routine went horribly wrong before the official sounded the final whistle.

Zambia 1-1 DR Congo

Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

Zambia and DR Congo played out an entertaining 1-1 draw on Sunday, giving the winner of the late match between Cape Verde and Tunisia a unique opportunity to grab the top spot in Group B and the inside track toward qualification for the next round.

Given Singuluma gave the 2012 champions a dream start, opening his 2015 AFCON account inside of two minutes. A poor clearance from a cross fell right to his feet, and he produced a stunning curling finish to give Congo goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba no chance.

Football writer Nana Pazl was impressed:

Dieumerci Mbokani had two chances to equalise inside the first 10 minutes, first taking too long to get off his shot at the far post before wildly blasting over after Kennedy Mweene had spilled the ball.

Congo started to grow into the match after a poor start, relying on the pure quality of Mbokani to lean on the Zambia defence and produce openings for teammates. Yannick Bolasie also proved to be a handful for the 2012 champions, who resorted to hard fouls in an attempt to stop the Crystal Palace man.

Stophira Sunzu was the first man booked for a rash challenge on Mbokani, and Fox Soccer tracker noticed the Congolese duo continued to look dangerous:

Bolasie forced Mweene into another good save before claiming a penalty, while Mbokani's powerful header troubled the 30-year-old stopper more than it should have.

Despite the persistent pressure from Congo, the Zambian defence had little difficulty holding onto the lead until half-time. A lack of chances to score a second was slightly worrying, but the situation still looked excellent after the first 45 minutes.

The pattern continued in the second half. Just three minutes in, Mbokani nearly connected with a cross from Firmin Ndombe Mubele, managing only a high looping ball. Goal's Ed Dove couldn't help but notice the striker's athletic ability has its limits:

Zambia tried feeding the ball to Emmanuel Mayuka to help lift the pressure, but Congo were the far better side on the ball, as the equaliser appeared to draw near.

Bolasie finally brought the teams on level terms in the 66th minute, producing a smashing finish after the ball fell to him at the edge of the box. Fans were as delighted with the goal as they were with Kidiaba's famous celebration:

Both teams now went in search of a winner, as the action became fast and furious. Mbokani nearly won the match for Congo with an ambitious overhead kick inside the final 10 minutes, forcing a save from Mweene. Several injuries disrupted the timing of both teams, however, with the crowd growing restless as more time passed.

Chancel Mbemba flattened Mweene in the dying stages of the match, and the treatment of the Zambia stopper all but ran out the clock.

Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

Zambia captain Rainford Kalaba knew how pivotal the result of this match can be, as he told SuperSport.com (h/t Goal) before the match:

"

Congo will be difficult because there are players that we know but they also know how difficult it is to beat Zambia. Winning this game is very important because it will take us to the quarter-finals.

"

A draw won't help either team, with favourites Tunisia and a strong team from Cape Verde will also have their eyes on the knockout stages. The two will meet later on Sunday, with the winner taking a strong option on the top spot in Group B.