82 mins: Zambia are having more of the ball at the moment but Mali look happy to try and pick them off. A second would definitely finish this as a contest.

80 mins: Another long throw from Banda causing the odd problem but Mali clear. The ball comes back but the attack breaks down after a foul on Dante.

78 mins: Corners and throw-ins look like Zambia’s best chance to get back into this. F Sakala heads off to be replaced by Musonda, who is celebrating his birthday.

76 mins: Zambia look short of ideas of how to create a chance in open play.

Mamadou Doumbia and Diarra on, Toure and Nene off.

74 mins: That was Zambia’s first shot of the match, compared to Mali’s 14. Just in case you were wondering how this is going.

72 mins: A Mali corner lands about 10 yards from goal, Diaby attacks it but heads well over.

Down the other end, a long throw almost leads to a chance for Zambia but the ball is bundled behind. The resulting does bring the best Zambia opportunity of the game, as Chanda overhead kicks but it is a stunning save.

70 mins: A second booking of the match levels things up. Zambia’s Simukonda is cautioned a minute after coming on for taking down Sangare.

Nene gets the ball on the left-hand side of the box and takes aim for the far corner but the goalkeeper reads it and palms the shot away.

68 mins: Zambia take off L Banda and Chaiwa, sending on Simukonda and Sabobo.

66 mins: Zambia break but it is curtailed when Dieng cynically takes down Kangwa from behind, earning the Mali skipper a booking.

64 mins: Zambia have worked hard defensively, so will be very angry with themselves for the manner in which they conceded. I suspect they will need to make some changes in order to get back into the match.

The goal seems to have boosted Mali, who are looking for a second. Doumbia barrels into the box and goes down after a challenge but it is not a penalty.

GOAL! Zambia give away a needless corner, which Mali take quickly before their opponents can regroup. A first shot is blocked but Sinayoko takes a touch and smashes home.

60 mins: Another decent moment for Zambia as a dangerous cross is sent into the box. Some mid-range chaos ensues but Mali react to clear.

58 mins: Zambia win a corner after a smart break. Can they make the most of it? Absolutely not, as the corner flies over everyone and straight out of play.

56 mins: Zambia are yet to offer an attacking threat in this half. They look quite keen to slow things down as much as possible. I think they are eyeing a point.

54 mins: A smart move from Mali opens up space for Coulibaly on the right, he dinks in a cross for Toure to attack but he gets the header wrong and it dribbles wide.

52 mins: Nene produces some trickery on the left, earning him the chance to get into the box. The winger goes down under pressure from M Banda. Naturally, the Malian wants another penalty but nothing is doing.

50 mins: I should say at this point the Mali kit is absolutely glorious. If anyone wants to buy me one for Christmas, feel free.

49 mins: Coulibaly is on the deck, rather upset not to receive a free-kick after a challenge by Chaiwa. He is right to be upset because the replays show the Zambia taken none of the ball and plenty of ankle. I am not sure how the officials missed it.

47 mins: An early effort from distance by Dieng should cause Mwanza troubles, considering some late bounce, but the goalkeeper deals with it easily.

Russell Yong emails: “Early rounds of the Afcon tend to see sparse crowds; it’s probably safe to say that the majority of people from most participating nations aren’t going to travel all the way across the continent to follow a tournament in person. You can, however, count on everyone within shouting distance of a TV, both in the home country and the (often very large) diasporas, tuning in to watch.

“For me, one of the greatest joys is perusing the squad lists and seeing names of players I’d long forgotten existed. Would you believe, for instance, that Didier Ndong is in the Gabon squad and still only 31? Plays for Esteghlal in Iran, apparently. Or that Jean-Philippe Gbamin has stayed injury-free for more than 10 minutes? Indeed, he has played over 100 games since leaving Everton and is currently at Metz. Pedro Obiang, Jean-Michael Seri, Steve Mounie, the list goes on.

“Anyway, here’s to a couple of weeks of simultaneously brilliant and chaotic football, confusing my Diarras and Diattas, and pretending to know everything about Samuel Moutoussamy.”

From what I can see on the television, I would say the ground is at about one-fifth of capacity.

Zambia are doing a little huddle on the pitch.

45+2 mins: We have a bit of a delay for treatment after a bump on the noggin’ for CHanda.

45 mins: Three minutes added on.

43 mins: The second penalty at Afcon not converted in as many matches. It doesn’t bode well for shootouts later on in the tournament.

40 mins: PENALTY TO MALI! Unsurprisingly it is a penalty. Not sure why this has taken so long, though.

39 mins: Nene beats Banda to the ball, resulting in the defender completing clearing out the Malian. The referee is off to the monitor …

38 mins: Chaos in the Zambia box. M Banda and Nene are left on the deck after a tackle by the Zambian, which looks like a dreadful foul. Penalty?

36 mins: Mali are having the majority of possession here but that will not surprise anyone. They just need to make it count at some point.

34 mins: Sangare takes aim from 20 yards but his shot goes well wide.

32 mins: The pitch does seem to be catching out a few of the players, leaving them unable to trust passes.

30 mins: L Musonda is down after getting a knock in the face near the byline. I am not sure he is badly hurt.

Sinayoko tries to break through the Zambia defence but a superb challenge from B Sakala removes the danger.

28 mins: Daka outmuscles the defender inside the box and looks like he is about to pick out F Sakala for an easy finish but Diaby gets in the way to head clear.

26 mins: L Banda gets into space down the right and has options in the box but Djigui Diarra reads the cross, allowing him to come and collect.

The game is starting to feel very even after Mali’s early promise.

24 mins: The assistant awards Mali a throw-in but Banda is fuming about it and gets in his face to remonstrate.

22 mins: Daka tries to send a through ball for F Sakala to chase but the pitch holds it up, allowing Mali to clear.

20 mins: Fashion Sakala tries to put Woyo Coulibaly under pressure in the Mali box but the referee deems the Zambia forward has crossed a line and whistles.

18 mins: Mali have a corner on the right. Zambia clear it and launch a counter attack down the right. Mali regroup and get back, ensuring the break comes to nothing.

The pitch looks very green but the ball does not seem to be running smoothly over it, making it hard work for the players.

16 mins: Sinayoko, who has looked lively on the right wing, gets the ball on the edge of the box, spins and firing a low drive but the goalkeeper is equal to it.

14 mins: A missplaced backpass forces Mwanza to move quickly to avoid conceding a needless corner. Zambia are certainly the team making more errors here. Mali will smell blood.

12 mins: Chanda tries to play a simple pass to someone five yards away but plays it straight out of play. Zambia just seem a little more on edge than Mali here. They need to all settle into the fixture.

10 mins: Zambia win a first corner of their own after Fofana stays strong against Daka. It’s put into a dangerous area but the goalkeeper does well to produce a strong punch.

8 mins: Mali are looking the livelier of the two teams. A few quick passes releases Dante down the left and he fires in a wicked cross but he only earns a corner.

A wayward pass goes straight to Zambia goalkeeper Mwanza, who tries to take a touch but it’s an awful one, costing his side a corner. I think he might be nervous.

6 mins: Mali get into the opposition box for the first time, too, but a good situation ends with a meek shot from Nene trickles wide.

4 mins: F Sakala nutmegs a defender and bursts into the box but is held up before he can get his shot away. A promising moment for Zambia.

2 mins: The countdown to kick-off inside the stadium is slightly anti-climatic when there is no one in attendance to shout the numbers.

Zambia are trying to pass it around at the back but leads to the goalkeeper almost being hunted down before getting his clearance away.

The crowd is, at best, sparse.

And we are now in Casablanca. A lovely Monday afternoon for a bit of football. Mali are in white and Zambia in a jazzier orange number.

The phone rings … Patricia is waiting for the answer. And it’s a no.

She’s offered £36k under asking price. Surely she has no chance.

We are the business end of A Place in the Sun on 4Seven before the football starts. Will they make an offer on a property? The tension is palpable!.

Test yourself!

If you are looking to watch this game in the UK, it will be shown on 4Seven, the coverage starts at 1.55pm.

And here’s a couple of cracking* interviews with some players out at Afcon.

First up, I went for a natter with a couple of Tanzania’s key men, who were born in England.

And the wonderful Luke Entwistle has gone for a natter with Monaco’s Lamine Camara.

*be your own judge.

This is what happened in yesterday’s opening fixture.

Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma is missing for Mali, the country he captains, having not recovered from ankle surgery. The midfielder is yet to play for his club this season and has almost certainly played his final game for Spurs. Mali head coach Tom Saintfiet is confident the 29-year-old will be available before the tournament ends.

“We have assurances that Yves will be ready during the tournament,” Saintfiet said. “When the matches get tougher, we’ll be glad to have him with us. We need a captain who’s present both mentally and physically.”

This raised a few eyebrows this week. Change is coming