Son of Zinedine Zidane to play for Algeria instead of France with an eye on FIFA World Cup 2026

Luca, son of France’s World Cup-winning playmaker Zinedine Zidane, has switched international allegiance to Algeria, putting the goalkeeper in line to follow in his father’s footsteps and play at the World Cup.

Luca’s switch of allegiance after playing for France at the junior level was approved by FIFA on Friday and posted on their Change of Association Platform.

Luca plays for Spanish second-division outfit Granada, and his switch of allegiance is an indication that the Algerians are seeking to add more options to their goalkeeping department.

Algeria has used four goalkeepers over the last year of competitive matches, with Alexis Guendouz of Mouloudia Alger the first choice. There have also been appearances for Oussama Benbot, who is also home-based; Anthony Mandrea, who competes in the French third division, and Alexandre Oukidja, who plays in the Serbian league.

Luca, 27, is the second of four brothers, all of whom came through the Real Madrid academy.

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He played two matches for Real Madrid and also has La Liga experience at Rayo Vallecano, but over the past four seasons, he competed in the Spanish second division at Eibar and now Granada.

Luca won caps for France at several junior levels, including under-20, necessitating a formal change of allegiance to be available for Algeria.

He qualifies for the North African country through his father, whose parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria.

Algeria is expected to secure a place at the FIFA World Cup 2026 through its qualifier against Somalia next month.

Zidane (Senior) won the World Cup with France in 1998, starring in its home success, but was sent off in the 2026 final in Germany, where it lost to Italy.

Published on Sep 19, 2025