Following an unbeaten qualifying campaign, Angola fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of South Africa in their opening match of the group, so heading into the game, a win seemed like it was a necessity for Angola and their hopes of progressing.
The Red Devils started the game well, dominating the opening stages. They first went close after 14 minutes when Gelson Dala weaved his way through a couple of defenders before firing goalwards, but his effort went straight down the middle of the goal, saved by Washington Arubi.
The best chance of the half came from a corner just two minutes later, with Arubi pulling off a phenomenal save to deny Jonathan Buatu’s header, plucking it away from the top-left corner.
Zimbabwe’s resolve was broken midway through the half, with Dala firing into the near bottom-left corner from the edge of the six-yard box after a precise cross from To Carneiro.
The Brave Warriors applied pressure as they searched for an equaliser and found it in the sixth minute of added time, after Knowledge Musona drilled a strike across goal to find the bottom-left corner.
The start of the second half saw Angola go close inside the opening five minutes, as Buatu went close again, but he was denied from close range again, as his left-footed shot was saved by Arubi.
It was the Brave Warriors who had the best opportunity to take the lead though, when they nearly took the lead with just over an hour played, but Ishmael Wadi was unable to get the better of Hugo Marques, who got down well to keep his strike across goal out of the bottom-left corner.
Zimbabwe continued to grow into the game and almost got their noses in front as it approached the final 10 minutes, but Marques was on hand to pull off a fantastic save to prevent Tawanda Chirewa from finding the top-right corner from the edge of the box.
Ultimately, neither team was able to find a winner, meaning Angola now face an uphill battle if they wish to advance with seven-time AFCON winners Egypt next up for the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe will also have to defeat South Africa in their final group game if they wish to progress.
Flashscore Man of the Match: To Carneiro (Angola)
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