Zidane's Son Luca Ditches France, Will Play For Algeria in FIFA World Cup 2026

In a big twist, football legend Zinedine Zidane's son, Luca Zidane, will not be playing for France in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Instead, he has chosen to represent Algeria, the country of his ancestors. This news is now the talk of the football world.

Here’s some surprising news for football fans. Zinedine Zidane's son, Luca Zidane, will be playing in the FIFA World Cup 2026, but not for France. He has decided to play for Algeria instead. While his father was a legendary midfielder, Luca is a goalkeeper and has been named in Algeria's 26-man squad. The team's coach, Vladimir Petkovic, has selected four goalkeepers in total.

Luca currently plays for Granada in LaLiga 2, which is Spain's second-division football league. He has played for France at the Under-16 and Under-20 levels, but he never got a call-up to the senior team. This is why he decided to play for Algeria, the land of his ancestors. Luca has already played six matches for Algeria's senior team and was also part of the African Cup of Nations 2026. He has been in great form for his club, keeping eight clean sheets in 26 matches this season. Naturally, Luca is hopeful of getting a chance to play in the World Cup.

Luca was born in France

Just like his father, Luca was born in France. His father, Zinedine, famously helped France win its first World Cup in 1998. Luca was born on May 13 of that very year. Now, at 28, he has made it to a World Cup squad for the first time. The Algerian team looks quite strong this time. It also includes Manchester City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, and Riyad Mahrez, who moved from Manchester City to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli. With such a lineup, the Algerian team is feeling confident about putting up a good fight in the World Cup.

Algeria in the same group as world champions

For this World Cup, Algeria is in Group J. This group also includes the defending champions Argentina, along with Austria and Jordan. If they perform well, Algeria has a real chance of qualifying for the knockout stages from this group. Luca and his teammates are certainly hoping for that.