{"id":374,"date":"2025-09-19T17:04:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T17:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=374"},"modified":"2025-09-19T17:04:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T17:04:29","slug":"luca-zidane-chooses-algeria-over-france-eyes-world-cup-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=374","title":{"rendered":"Luca Zidane Chooses Algeria Over France, Eyes World Cup Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"632\" src=\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-9.png 960w, https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-9-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-9-768x506.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Luca Zidane<\/strong>, the son of legendary French midfielder <strong>Zinedine Zidane<\/strong>, has officially switched his international allegiance from France to <strong>Algeria<\/strong>, opening the door for him to represent the North African nation at the <strong>2026 FIFA World Cup<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision was confirmed by <strong>FIFA<\/strong> on Friday through its Change of Association platform, following Luca\u2019s formal request to represent Algeria. Although he previously played for France at youth level, the 27-year-old goalkeeper has now opted to follow in the footsteps of his father\u2019s heritage, as Zinedine\u2019s parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently playing for <strong>Granada<\/strong> in Spain\u2019s second division, Zidane\u2019s move comes at a time when Algeria is looking to strengthen its goalkeeping options. Over the past year, the Desert Foxes have rotated between four different keepers, with <strong>Alexis Guendouz<\/strong> of Mouloudia Alger serving as the primary choice. Others, including <strong>Oussama Benbot<\/strong>, <strong>Anthony Mandrea<\/strong>, and <strong>Alexandre Oukidja<\/strong>, have also featured. Zidane\u2019s addition offers fresh competition and international-level experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luca Zidane, the second of four brothers who all came through the <strong>Real Madrid academy<\/strong>, began his career with Los Blancos, making two senior appearances before moving on to <strong>Rayo Vallecano<\/strong>, <strong>Eibar<\/strong>, and now Granada. Despite limited top-flight exposure, his pedigree and experience in Spain\u2019s highly competitive leagues make him a valuable asset for Algeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of his eligibility, Zidane had already represented France at several junior levels, including the <strong>U-20 side<\/strong>, which required him to formally change associations to be eligible for Algeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Algeria, this move comes at a critical moment as the team is on course to qualify for the <strong>2026 World Cup<\/strong> in North America, with a crucial qualifier against <strong>Somalia<\/strong> next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zidane\u2019s father, <strong>Zinedine Zidane<\/strong>, remains one of football\u2019s greatest icons, having inspired France to <strong>World Cup glory in 1998<\/strong>. His international career, however, ended in dramatic fashion with a red card in the <strong>2006 World Cup final<\/strong>, where France lost to Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Luca Zidane now embracing his Algerian roots, fans are hopeful he can bring stability between the posts and play a role in guiding the Desert Foxes to success on the world stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luca Zidane, the son of legendary French midfielder Zinedine Zidane, has officially switched his international allegiance from France<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[416,208],"tags":[411,414,413,415,410,412],"class_list":["post-374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-african-football-news","category-international-basketball","tag-algeria-football","tag-algeria-goalkeepers","tag-fifa-2026-world-cup","tag-granada-cf","tag-luca-zidane","tag-zinedine-zidane"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - 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