Zinedine Zidane has four footballing sons, one of whom plans to follow in his father’s footsteps and compete in the 2026 World Cup for Algeria rather than France.
Zidane is widely regarded as one of the best football players of all time. Dominating the game in the 1990s and into the new millennium, his talents were showcased at Juventus and Real Madrid, earning him a legendary Ballon d’Or award in 1998.
Luca Zidane, one of Zinedine’s sons, will be trying to make his own World Cup history after switching allegiance to Algeria ahead of the event.
Luca Zidane switches allegiance to Algeria ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Every season a professional player plays is equally essential as the last. However, the season preceding a World Cup, properly named a ‘World Cup year’, stimulates players even more, thinking that an improvement in form will allow them to represent their country on the grandest platform.
However, regardless of quality, luck plays a role in whether a country will ever qualify for the World Cup, with certain players, such as George Best, failing to carry their country over the finish line. Knowing this, some players switch allegiances in the hopes of enhancing their chances of making national team appearances, which may land Luca Zidane a World Cup spot.
Having worn a France shirt from U16 to U20 level, that appeared to be the end of Luca’s national career as he continued to carve out a successful career in Spain. However, thanks to his grandparents’ ties to Algeria, the 27-year-old has been able to reclaim his place on the national team, just in time for the world’s biggest football tournament.
Zinedine’s parents were from Algeria’s Kabylie region, which enables Luca to swap allegiances. Algeria, like all African-based teams, qualified by defeating CAF teams, and their performance in Group H presently places them at the top.
After eight games, they have six victories, one tie, and one loss, giving them 19 points, four ahead of second-placed Uganda. With only two more games to play until qualifying is concluded, against Somalia and Uganda, Algeria’s qualifying campaign is almost complete.
Algeria has competed in four World Cups, and a fifth may reunite them on the largest platform with Zidane. Luca might become the first Zidane to play in a World Cup since his father, Zinedine, a feat that neither Theo, Enzo, nor Elyaz have accomplished.
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