After Ivory Coast and Mali had shared the spoils in the earlier contest, Cameroon and Guinea then followed suit as Guinea's Ibrahima Traoré cancelled out Benjamin Moukandjo's 13th minute opener which leaves the group exactly level.

All four games in the group so far have been 1-1 draws, which means pure luck could be the deciding factor in naming the two teams who will book their places in the quarter-finals if the last round of matches produces the same scorelines.

Ivory Coast will play Cameroon in their last match, while Guinea entertain Mali, and if one game yields a winner and the other is a draw, lots will also have to be drawn to decide who finishes as runner-up.

The permutations remain complicated, which is a theme that will resonate particularly with Ivory Coast, who once again had to rely on a last-gasp equaliser to salvage a point and to keep their hopes of qualification alive.

Mali started the better of the two teams and they took a surprise lead after just six minutes as Bakary Sako converted a Sambou Yatabaré cross with a brilliantly timed half-volley that flew into the corner of the net.

That seemed to send shockwaves throughout the Ivorian camp as they struggled to get a foothold in the contest, although they were also victims of bad luck as Kolo Touré's header struck the bar.

Ibrahima Traoré struck a brilliant equaliser just before half-time which was enough to earn Guinea a point against Cameroon ©Getty Images



The highly-fancied Ivorians continued to press in search of an equaliser but they had to wait until four minutes from time as Serge Aurier pulled the ball back to Max Gradel, who demonstrated his cool composure with a tidy finish to rescue a draw for his side.

In the other contest in a tight Group D, Cameroon raced into an early lead as Moukandjo somehow found the net direct from a corner after an error from Guinea goalkeeper Naby Yattara.

Guinea weren't deterred by the early setback and they restored parity three minutes before half-time thanks to a superb 20-yard strike from Traoré, and neither side could find a winner as the the match petered out to yet another draw.

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