A thoroughly entertaining game played out on Sunday evening at the Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyin, with the spoils being shared between the two teams. Despite taking the lead through Mohamed Ali Moncer, Tunisia couldn't hold onto the lead and Cape Verde's Hélton levelled the game almost immediately. That left all four nations on one point, after the first round of fixtures in Group B.

The two sides were hoping to gain an early advantage of the rest of their opponents, after Zambia and DR Congo played out a 1-1 draw.

Tunisia had the big names from the French Ligue 1 in the starting eleven, as Aymen Abdennour, Jamel Saihi and Wahbi Kharzi all started the game.

Cape Verde, who reached the quarter-finals last time, had Sporting Lisbon's Héldon to try and spur them to glory and Ryan Mendes of Lille to call on off the bench.

Though it was almost the perfect start for the team in all blue, as Fernando Varela headed Babanco's costless-kick onto the post inside two minutes. Incidentally it was his appearance against Tunisia in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, while suspended, that cost Cape Verde a place in Brazil.

Chances were limited in the opening exchanges; though the Blue Sharks' concerns were over captain Babanco, who looked to have picked up a nasty knock, but he was able to soldier on after some treatment.

Ahmed Akaichi's downwards header produced a fine stop from Josimar Vozinha. Kuca issued an immediate response at the other end and forced Aymen Mathlouthi to get down low to his left.

Tunisia's stopper was on hand again to deny Djaniny, after good play down the right-hand side from Héldon. They soon had Vozinha to thank for some unorthodox goalkeeping, nipping the ball off Yassine Chikhaoui's toes.

A contentious decision from Eric Arnaud Otogo-Castane in the lead up to half-time had Cape Verde up in arms, with Héldon taken down on the 18-yard line, who thought they should have had a penalty. However, replays did show that the Gabonese official had made a great decision.

The second-half began a a much slower pace compared to the first, with les Aigles de Carthage begin to take charge in midfield.

Babanco and Héldon then created an opportunity for Kuca against the run of play, only for Syam Ben Youssef to make a crucial last-ditch clearance off the line.

Tunisia thought they'd taken the lead just after the hour mark. Chikhaoui's header cannoned against the cross bar and Abdennour tapped home the rebound, though a very debatable foul was given on the goalkeeper and Cape Verde were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

They wouldn't be denied for much longer, as Mohamed Ali Moncer broke the deadlock. Saihi played a fantastic through-ball to Ali Maaloul, who put the ball into the corridor of death and Ali Moncer arrived late at the back post to smash the ball into the rough of the net.

It was a short lived advantage, however. Héldon's pace drew yet another foul, though, unlike the first-half, this one was inside the box. The Sporting Lisbon man picked himself up and confidently placed the ball into the top corner, restoring parity after just six minutes of being behind.

Neither side could force a winner late on, despite their best efforts to earn all three points. A point was a fair result on the balance of play, though both could very easily have claimed the win.

Cape Verde take on DR Congo on Thursday evening, while Tunisia will face Zambia the earlier kick-off; all will be desperate to get a leg-up on their opponents after a very even opening to the group.