Heldon's late penalty earned Cape Verde a point as they held Tunisia to a 1-1 draw at the Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyin in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations this evening.

Cape Verde got the game off to a flyer as they hit the post within three minutes, as a mix-up in the box saw the ball fly out of Tunisia goalkeeper Emel Mathlouthi's reach before crashing against the woodwork.

Back came Tunisia, though, and they almost found the lead when Ahmed Akaichi was picked out inside the box, only for Vozinha to get down low and keep the ball out at the bottom corner.

Verde were the next to be wasteful when Djanini was found in the box with time and space, although the best that he could muster was a tame effort that was easily gathered by Mathlouthi.

Cape boss Rui Aguas was furious with the referee just before the break when Heldon was fouled in a dangerous position, but replays showed that the official made the correct call only to award a free kick.

Tunisia seemed to have gathered themselves at the interval and they made good inroads after the break, culminating in Yassine Chikhaoui having a goal disallowed for offside after he had originally hit the crossbar.

The decision didn't appear to be too costly, however, when Ali Maaloul picked out Mohamed Ali Moncer, who tapped in from close range to give Tunisia a 1-0 lead.

Verde were given the chance to pull level after Heldon was brought down by a clumsy Ben Youssef, the striker making no mistake with his penalty that flew into the top-right corner.

Tunisia might have stolen a win late on, but Chikaoui was wasteful with his head as he got on the end of an industrious long throw from Hamza Mathlouthi, leaving the game to end in a 1-1 draw.