Luca follows in his father’s footsteps.. Zidane’s family writes history in the World Cup | sports

The confrontation between Algeria and Argentina in the 2026 World Cup witnessed a historic moment for the Zidane family, after goalkeeper Luca Zidane scored his first appearance in the World Cup, 20 years after his father, the legendary Zinedine Zidane, last participated in the World Cup finals.

By participating primarily with the Algerian national team, Luca joined a rare list of fathers and sons who participated in World Cup competitions, becoming with his father the 27th duo in the history of the tournament to succeed in representing their national teams on the largest football stage in the world.

This achievement is made even more special by the fact that the Zidane family has become only the second case in the history of the World Cup in which a father and son represent two different teams, as Zinedine Zidane defended the colors of the French national team during the 1998, 2002 and 2006 editions, while Luca chose to represent the Algerian national team in the 2026 edition.

Only one family has previously achieved this achievement, when Brazilian Mazinho participated in the World Cup with a Brazilian shirt, before his son Thiago Alcantara represented the Spanish national team in the World Cup.

Luca Zidane’s participation carries a special symbolism, not only because of his father’s great football legacy, but because it confirms the continued presence of Zidane’s name in the largest international forums across two different generations, and between two teams linked to the same family and cultural history.

While Zinedine Zidane achieved his glory with the French national team and led it to win the World Cup title in 1998, Luca Zidane began writing his own chapter in the Algerian shirt, placing the family name again in the annals of world football history.