Youssef En-Nesyri and Bakary Koné have been called-up to take part in the Africa Cup with their respective national teams. The championship gets underway on Saturday in Gabon, bringing together the best teams on the African continent. This is the first time that two Málaga CF players have taken part in this African tournament at the same time.

Along with Morocco and Burkina Faso, historic teams such as Cameroon and Ivory Coast, or revelations in recent years including Algeria and Tunisia are competing. Not forgetting the host team, Gabon, and tough competitor, Ghana.

Both En-Nesyri and Koné have been with their national teams for two weeks to prepare for the Africa Cup. The central took part in a friendly last Saturday, in Burkina Faso’s 2-1 victory against Mali; whilst the Moroccan striker was part of his country’s defeat (0-1) against Finland, also a friendly, although he had to abandon play after half an hour due to physical discomfort.

Before En-Nesyri and Koné, another two Malaguistas were called-up for the Africa Cup. Victor Obinna was the first Blue and Whites’ player to take part in the tournament in 2010. He was selected by Nigeria whilst he was part of Málaga CF, on loan from Inter Milan. In the case of Aitor Embela, the División de Honor Juvenil Malaguista goalkeeper was called-up by Equatorial Guinea in the 2015 championship.