Luca Zidane, the 27-year-old goalkeeper and son of French football legend Zinedine Zidane, will now represent Algeria at the international level. The Algerian Football Federation confirmed the news on Friday.
FIFA officially approved the switch, allowing Luca to play for the Algerian national team. The decision was recorded on FIFA’s change of association platform on the same day.
Luca previously played for France at youth levels. He currently plays for Granada in Spain’s second division. Since he never played for France’s senior team, he was eligible to join Algeria, the country of his paternal grandparents.
Algeria has already qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which starts on December 21 in Morocco. They also top World Cup qualifying Group G with 19 points. A win against Somalia or a draw with Uganda next month will secure their place in the 2026 World Cup.
Luca began his career in Real Madrid’s youth academy in 2004 and later played for the club’s reserve team. He made his debut for the first team in the last league game of the 2017-2018 season. He was Real Madrid’s third-choice goalkeeper when they won their 13th Champions League title in 2018.
Although Zinedine Zidane was born in Marseille, his family comes from a small village in Bejaia, about 250 kilometres east of Algiers.
