Son of Zinedine Zidane to play for Algeria instead of France

Luca, son of the World Cup winning playmaker of France, Zinedine Zidane, has switched international loyalty to Algeria, which means that the goalkeeper stands in line to follow his father’s footsteps and play at the World Cup.

Luca’s switch from Trouw After playing for France at Junior Level, FIFA was approved on Friday and was posted on their change in association platform.

Luca plays for the Spanish Second-Division outfit Granada, and his switch from Allegiance is an indication that the Algerians want to add more options to their goalkeeper department.

Algeria has used four keepers in the past year of competitive competitions, with Alexis Guendouz from Mouloudia Alger the first choice. There have also been appearances for Ossama Benbot, who is also at home; Anthony Mandrea, who competes in the French Third Division, and Alexandre Oukidja, who plays in the Serbian competition.

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

Related: Luca, son of Zinedine Zidane, seems to cut his own name out of the shadow of his father

He played two games for Real Madrid and also has La Liga experience in Rayo Vallecano, but in the last four seasons he participated in the Spanish Second Division in Eibar and now Granada.

Luca won caps for France on different junior levels, including younger than 20, making a formal change of loyalty available to be available for Algeria.

He is eligible for the North African country through his father, whose parents came from the Kabylie region of Algeria.

Van Algeria is expected to secure a place on the FIFA World Cup 2026 due to his qualification against Somalia next month.

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

Published on September 19, 2025