French football legend Zinédine Zidane’s son Luca was called up by Algeria for the first time on Thursday, October 2, with the team close to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America. Luca Zidane, a 27-year-old goalkeeper, has represented France at the youth level before, but never for the senior national team, and is eligible for Algeria through his father’s family ties.
FIFA approved a change of national eligibility two weeks ago for Zidane, who once played at Real Madrid when his father was coach there. He is now with the Spanish second-division team Granada.
Algeria team coach Vladimir Petkovic picked Zidane in a 26-player squad for qualifying games against Somalia on October 9 and Uganda five days later. Algeria leads the qualifying group by four points, and a win in either game would send the team to the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Algeria has played in four men’s World Cups and reached the round of 16 at its last appearance in 2014.
Zinedine Zidane played in three World Cups for France, winning the 1998 title at home and losing the final in 2006.
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