Luca Zidane laments Algeria’s AFCON exit, vows comeback

Luca Zidane has admitted disappointment after Algeria’s journey at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations ended at the hands of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, describing the elimination as painful.

The son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane made his AFCON debut for the Desert Foxes and played a part in their run to the quarter-finals before their hopes were dashed by a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria on Saturday.

Reacting in a message on the Algeria Football Media X handle, Zidane thanked Algerian supporters for their backing and expressed confidence that the team will recover and return stronger from the setback.

“The AFCON ends here. The disappointment is immense. But deep down inside me, there’s something even stronger. Pride,” Zidane wrote.

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“The pride of having lived my first AFCON. The pride of having worn this jersey,that of Algeria, the country of my grandparents.

“This elimination hurts but it doesn’t stop us. Algeria always rises again.”

Zidane is of Spanish descent through his mother, and of Algerian Arab Berber descent through his father. He has French and Algerian nationality.

Zidane joined the Real Madrid youth academy at six in 2004 and worked his way up from the academy, eventually joining Castilla, the reserve team.

Zidane’s father, Zinedine joined the Real Madrid coaching staff in 2014, thereby becoming his son’s coach at various levels early in his footballing career.

Zidane made his professional debut for Real Madrid in their last league game of the 2017–18 season: a 2–2 La Liga tie with Villarreal on 19 May 2018.

During the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, he was the third-choice goalkeeper, when Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title.

He was part of the France U-17 squad that won the 2015 UEFA European U-17 Championship and also featured at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

He made one appearance for the U-20 team on 23 March 2018 in a 1–0 friendly defeat to the United States in Spain.

On 19 September 2025, FIFA approved Zidane’s request to change his sporting nationality from French to Algerian, making him eligible to play for the Algeria national team.

On 2 October 2025, he accepted their call-up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Somalia and Uganda.

His debut with Algeria came 12 days later in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Uganda after being named in the starting line-up.

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