"It's an honour to play for Algeria. To be able to play in a World Cup is a dream for any kid." That's Luca Zidane — son of Zinedine, starting goalkeeper for Algeria at the 2026 World Cup, and currently doing it with a protective face mask strapped over a jaw that was fractured just weeks ago.
The surname alone was always going to turn heads. But Luca Zidane has given the tournament a genuine storyline independent of his father's legacy.
Why Algeria, not France or Spain?
Born in Aix-en-Provence, Luca holds triple citizenship — French by birth, Spanish through his mother, and Algerian through his paternal lineage. He never made a competitive senior appearance for France, and when FIFA approved his federation switch in September 2025, the path to Algeria was clear.
It wasn't purely pragmatic. "We've lived in an Algerian culture since we were small," he told The Athletic. He consulted his father, his brothers, his grandfather before deciding. Zinedine was supportive. The family signed off.
Algeria now has a goalkeeper with one of the most recognizable surnames in the sport — and, as it turns out, the ability to back it up. On June 3, Luca kept a clean sheet against the Netherlands, making six saves in a 1-0 win. That's not a soft debut against a soft opponent.
The mask, and what it took to get here
In late April, playing for his club Granada against Almeria, Luca suffered a fractured jaw, a fractured chin, and a severe concussion in an aerial collision. The medical picture was grim enough that his World Cup participation was genuinely in doubt.
He made it. The face mask — custom-designed by his medical team — is what's making him so visually distinctive between the sticks. "I'm doing well, I don't have any pain anymore," he told reporters ahead of the tournament. "The surgery went well and five weeks have passed now. I returned to training on the pitch two weeks ago."
Five weeks from a fractured jaw to a World Cup clean sheet against the Dutch. Algeria's odds in their group just look a little more interesting with a goalkeeper performing at that level.
Luca Zidane, for the record, is 28 years old, signed to Granada through June 2027, and currently playing the football of his life on the sport's biggest stage — with a metal mask on his face and Zinedine's name on his back.
