The 2006 World Cup Final was one of the most dramatic moments in football history.
Zinedine Zidane, who had put France 1-0 up with an audacious goal early in the Panenka penalty, was sent off in extra time for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi.
Zidane’s eight-year-old son Luca was watching from the stands at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. He attended all of France’s games throughout the tournament and was distraught when Italy won the trophy in a penalty shootout at the end – even though he now brushes off that unforgettable match and his father’s role in it by saying: “What happened happened. Football is like that.”
After two decades, Luka Zidane himself is going to play in a World Cup. Born in France, and after living most of his life in Spain, where he is a goalkeeper for Granada’s second division team, he chose last autumn to represent Algeria, where his grandparents were born.
“We’ve been living in Algerian culture since we were little,” he says. “It’s an honor to play for Algeria. The final decision was mine, but I talked to my family, my parents, my brothers, my grandfather. My father was happy, he knew it was something I wanted to do. To be able to play in the World Cup is a dream for any kid.”
Zidane, 28, made his international debut in October, then played at the Africa Cup of Nations, where Algeria lost in the quarter-finals against Nigeria on 10 January.
On Tuesday in Kansas City (Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT, 2 a.m. in the UK), he will be his team’s last line of defense against Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champions Argentina.
“Messi is one of the greatest players in history,” he says. “But Algeria is a big football nation. We can surprise people. And we have our own threats: (Riyadh) Mahrez is also a great player.”
The Zidane family home has been the Spanish capital of Madrid since 2001, the year Zinedine became the Bernabéu Galactico when signing from Juventus. All four children – Enzo (born in 1995), Luca (1998), Theo (2002) and Elias (2005) – followed in their father’s footsteps as soon as they were able to walk.
“Ever since we were very young we all went to (Real Madrid’s) Valdebebas (academy) to train,” says Luca Zidane. “We’ll also play all day at home: two versus two in the garden. “There will be some rows too, we’re all competitive. My mom used to get a little tired of it, but those are really good memories.”
The only member of the family to play in goal, he rose through Madrid’s youth ranks and was first-choice as the under-18 team reached the semi-finals of the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League.
His father was Madrid’s head coach at the time, and in the following seasons Luca was often called up to train with the senior team alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.
Luca and Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid training in May 2018 (Gabriel Boyes/AFP via Getty Images)
“At home he’s your father, but when you go to Valdebebas he’s just the coach,” says Zidane.
“He may be a little harder on you than other players, but it didn’t bother me. At that age, no matter who your coach is, you have to work hard every day to reach the highest level.”
More experience was gained by playing for reserve team Real Madrid Castilla in Spain’s third tier alongside Federico Valverde and Vinicius Júnior. During the 2016–17 season, Zidane played eight games for Castilla, with his older brother Enzo a more regular presence in midfield. In 2024, Enzo retired from football at the age of 29, his final season coming with Fuenlabrada, again in the Spanish third division.
Along with Keylor Navas as first choice for the seniors, Luca won winners’ medals at the 2017–18 UEFA Super Cup and Supercopa de España as an unused Real Madrid substitute. After only two La Liga appearances for the first team, he decided to join second division side Racing Sanchez on loan in the summer of 2019.
“Navas was there, Kiko Casilla and then (Thibaut) Courtois was signed,” he says. “I went to play at Racing every week, which is the most important thing.”
After having ‘Luca’ written instead of ‘Zidane’ on his club jersey, he signed for Rayo Vallecano, helping them get promoted to La Liga in 2020–21 under recently appointed Liverpool manager Andoni Ireola. He left for Eibar in 2022, before joining Granada for €500,000 in July 2024.
Zidane says he feels at home in the city, with its Moorish cultural heritage, including the beautiful Alhambra palace. His two brothers also live in Andalusia. Theo, a 24-year-old midfielder, played regularly in midfield for Cordoba in the same division as Granada last season. 20-year-old defender Elias continued his development in the third tier with the youth team of (Sevilla-based) Real Betis.
Zidane family photographed with Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez after Zinedine was appointed manager in 2016. Luca is on the right (Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
In two seasons at Granada, Zidane has worked hard to establish himself as a starter, although he admits that no matter how many saves he makes, any mistake will always make the headlines, especially given his name. One such unfortunate moment came in a key promotion clash against Racing Granada in June last year, when he gave away a cheap goal with a poor clearance.
“When you’re called Zidane, everything you do has more impact,” he says. “People are waiting for something bad to happen so they can talk about it. But I’ve had to deal with it since I was little, so it’s natural for me. I’m always trying to improve every day, to become as good a goalkeeper as I can be.”
Wherever they have lived, the Zidane family has maintained deep ties to Marseille, where Zinedine’s parents Smile and Malika came from Algeria in the 1960s.
“In Marseille, we eat Algerian food, speak the language,” says Luca. “My grandfather taught my father Algerian values, and my father taught them to us. Above all, respecting people, working hard, so no one gives you anything for free. Also being serious and being ambitious, which is important.”
The mixed heritage of the Zidane brothers has opened up a variety of opportunities at international level. Luca won the Under-17 European Championship with France in 2015, saving three penalties in the semi-final shootout win over Belgium. Enzo won international caps for both Spain and France at an early age. Theo played for France at the Under-17 Euros in 2019. Elíaz made his Spain under-20 debut in September 2025.
“Playing the European Championships and winning it was a lovely experience,” says Luca. “One can have two nationalities, or sometimes even three. I am proud of my countries, and proud of my brothers too. We are fortunate to have different cultures.”
As his club career continued mostly in Spain’s second tier, senior international recognition seemed far away. But then came the call up from Algeria, and his debut in a 2–1 World Cup qualifying win over Uganda in October.
Luca Zidane has now made seven appearances for Algeria (Marco Bortorello/AFP via Getty Images)
During the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in January, national team coach Vladimir Petkovic praised his shot-stopping ability as well as his playing skills from the back. When Luca set a tournament record of 390 minutes without conceding a goal as Algeria reached the last eight, his parents were watching from the stands.
“It was a really good tournament, although we would have liked to have gone further,” he says. “Putting on the jersey and hearing the national anthem makes me really emotional – and so does my whole family.”
Zidane was prominently involved in the mass melee following the disastrous 2–0 quarter-final defeat to Nigeria. He has since been handed a two-game ban, which will be imposed in Algeria’s qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, starting in September.
“These things happen in football and they happen on the pitch,” he said when asked about the altercation. “You don’t have to worry too much about them. Now we have to get ready for the World Cup.”
Zidane’s 2025–26 club season ended when he fractured both his jaw and chin while playing for Granada against Almería in late April. He returned to action on 3 June wearing a protective mask and kept another clean sheet in Algeria’s impressive 1–0 friendly win against the Netherlands.
Under Petkovic there were 21 wins, four draws and three losses in 28 matches. Can Algeria match or surpass neighboring Morocco’s feat of making the World Cup semi-finals at Qatar 2022?
Zidane replied, “I believe that African teams will have a big role in this World Cup.” “Algeria has a really good team, very united, with a lot of young talent. We will surprise a lot of people.”
Those young talents include 20-year-old Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Ibrahim Maza, while experience comes from Milan midfielder Ismail Bennacer, 28, Borussia Dortmund defender Rami Bensebaini, 31, and former Manchester City winger Mahrez, 35, who scored eight goals and provided 15 assists for Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli last term.
Zidane’s club future is uncertain, with his Granada contract expiring in June 2027. The World Cup – where Algeria will also face Jordan and Austria in Group J – is a huge occasion.
“In the beginning people see you more as someone’s son,” he says. “But I’ve always tried to make my own path. I’ve worked hard to improve every day.”
“This is an important moment for my career, playing the World Cup, to show that I can play at the highest level. I feel ready for it.”