Egypt coach Mohsen Saleh is faced with several injury problems

The four goals came despite neither side playing with their top scorers, as the DR Congo's Lomana Lua Lua has not joined the Simbas' squad from England yet while Egyptian striker Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam is still with his French side Marseille.

The aggressive nature of the match took an early toll with Egyptian defender Amr El Desoky having to be substituted after just seven minutes.

A few minutes later, the first chance of the match fell to Egypt as Tarek El Sayed's shot hit the bar.

The Pharaohs eventually broke through when a good combination between Abdel Haleem Aly and Ahmed Belal resulted in the latter chipping the ball neatly over Congolese goalkeeper Tokala Nkombe in the 40th minute.

The DR Congo drew level early in the second half when the Egyptian reserve goalkeeper Abdel Wahed El Sayed failed to stop a free-kick from DR Congo's German-born midfielder Michel Mazingu-Dinzey.

But controversy followed for as the Congolese celebrated off the pitch, the Egyptian players restarted the game and Belal immediately scored his second goal with only the Simba goalkeeper to beat.

The controversial goal resulted in the match being suspended for five minutes as the DR Congo players objected to its validity and argued with the Egyptian referee Mohamed Kamal.

When the game resumed, the angry Congolese players seemed to take their aggression out on their opponents as three more Egyptian players - Bechir El Tabei, Hazem Emam and Ahmed Hassan - all had to be replaced due to injury.

The Simbas' aggression and constant attacks were rewarded with a deserved equaliser from Lakuyu Mbala, who took advantage of a scramble in the Egyptian penalty box to fire home.

The Egyptians continued looking for a winner in front of their home fans but despite some good chances, Nkombe kept them at bay.

However, the match has thrown up more problems for Egypt coach Mohsen Saleh as he now ponders a long list of casualties.

Seeking a record fifth title, Egypt will contest Group C in the finals alongside reigning champions Cameroon, Algeria and debutants Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, the DR Congo, led by English coach Mick Wadsworth, will face hosts Tunisia, Guinea and newcomers Rwanda in Group A.