Algeria qualified for the 2026 World Cup, Zidane and his son "each has his own master"

Written by Han Bing After defeating Somalia 3-0, Algeria secured the top spot in the group one round ahead of schedule and became the 20th team to secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup. In the Algerian team, in addition to big-name players like Mahrez, there is also goalkeeper Luca, the second son of the French legend Zidane, who was naturalized in mid-September. He will open a chapter of "each his own" football with his father and three brothers, and the great surname Zidane will also bring additional global attention to Algeria.

27-year-old Luca was born in France, the second among four brothers. Like his elder brother Enzo, younger brothers Theo and Elias, he also came from the Real Madrid youth training system. Luca and his brother Enzo, who chose the goalkeeper position, were "shadowed" by their father in their early years. After Zidane took charge of Real Madrid in 2016, they were promoted to the first team. But compared with his father, the career achievements of his four sons are particularly mediocre. His elder brother Enzo has never played for Real Madrid's first team. In September 2024, at the age of 29, he announced his retirement and focused on his investment career and family life.

Luka's Real Madrid career was also short, having only played 2 times for the team. In the 2017/18 season, he played with the team as Real Madrid's third goalkeeper. Although he made zero appearances in the Champions League, he still won a championship medal. Since then, his career has gradually declined, and he can almost only gain a foothold in the second division. In order to realize his World Cup dream, Luca chose to naturalize in Algeria.

It is worth mentioning that Zidane, who was born in Marseille, has Algerian Berber ancestry, and his ancestors came from Kabylia in northern Algeria; and Luca’s mother, Veronique Fernandez, is Spanish, which means that Luca is qualified to play for the three national teams of France, Spain and Algeria.

In fact, Luca also has experience in France - he was selected for the French national team in all five age groups from U16 to U20. He also won the 2015 U17 European Championship with the team and won the best goalkeeper award in the tournament. But in the talented French team, he never got a chance. Naturalization in Algeria became the only way for him to realize his dream of the World Cup.

In order to naturalize Luca, the Algerian Football Association also tried its best. After receiving approval from FIFA in mid-September, it immediately recruited him into the squad for the World Cup preliminaries in October.

Well-known international sports consultant Butchenafa believes that Luka will represent Algeria in the World Cup next year, which has special significance for this country and even Africa as a whole. It is extremely rare for the son of a European superstar to choose to play for an African country in the World Cup.

The surname "Zidane" itself is a huge traffic code - it will greatly increase Algeria's attention in global media and public opinion, and along with it, there will be considerable business returns. From jersey sales to sponsorship cooperation, Luca's joining is expected to bring a series of business opportunities to Algeria.

If Algeria and France are in the same group at next year's World Cup, the plot alone of Zidane's father, son, and brother taking charge will be enough to be a highlight.

In the past, it was not uncommon for fathers, sons, and brothers to be their own masters.

Mazinho is a member of the 1994 Brazilian World Cup champion team. His eldest son Thiago entered the La Masia youth training camp at the age of 14 and played for Barcelona, ​​Bayern and Liverpool. He chose to represent Spain; his younger brother Rafinha, who was also born in La Masia, played for the Spanish national youth team in his early years. In 2013, he switched to Brazil and won the men's football gold medal at the Rio Olympics with the team.

There are many similar cases in Brazilian football: Assuncao, the free kick master who once played for Roma, has his son Senna naturalized in Spain; Geraldo Alves' two sons, Geraldo and Bruno, both grew up to be Portuguese internationals. George Weah, the first non-European player to win the Ballon d'Or, and his eldest son George and third son Timothy were both born in the youth training of Paris Saint-Germain and chose to play for the United States. Among them, Timothy Weah is already an international player for the U.S. senior team.

Louis, the son of Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, plays as a winger. He will be 18 years old at the end of 2024 and grew up in Turin, but in March this year he chose to play for the Czech U18 national youth team - the reason is that his mother is Czech supermodel Seledova. Jonathan, the son of German legend Jurgen Klinsmann, is also a goalkeeper. Born in Germany, he chose to play football for the U.S. National Youth Team.

In addition, there are many cross-national "father-son inheritances" in football: German international Sane, who played for Manchester City and Bayern, and his father Soleimani were once Senegalese internationals; Naples' Belgian international Lukaku, whose father Rogel is a democratic player The former Zaire international of Congo; the most bizarre one is Kvaratshelia, who just won the Triple Crown with Paris Saint-Germain - his father Baddeli was born in Georgia, but he was once the international of neighboring Azerbaijan (played 3 times), one of which was against Georgia.