Luca Zidane, son of French football legend Zinedine Zidane, was named to Algeria's squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Saturday, set to begin on December 21 in Morocco.
The 27-year-old goalkeeper, who plays for Spanish second-tier club Granada, previously represented France at the youth level before switching his international allegiance to Algeria.
He debuted for the Desert Foxes in a World Cup qualifier against Uganda two months ago and is one of three goalkeepers selected, alongside Oussama Benbot (USM Alger) and Anthony Mandrea (Caen).
"It is an honour for me, and I will give 100% to make the Algerian people proud," said Zidane after his son's debut.
"I'm sure the players will arrive highly motivated and ready to play in this AFCON," said Algeria coach and former Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic after announcing the squad.
"The main objective is to get past the first round... with the ambition to go as far as possible in the tournament."
Algeria start their Group E campaign against Sudan on December 24, then face Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea.
Group winners and runners-up automatically qualify for the round of 16. The best four of the six third-placed nations also advance to the knockout stage.
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw selected six Premier League players in his squad for the AFCON, where they face Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin in Group D.
They are defender El Hadji Diouf (West Ham), midfielders Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham) and Habib Diarra (Sunderland) and forwards Iliman Ndiaye (Everton) and Isma‹la Sarr (Crystal Palace).
Algeria Squad
Goalkeepers: Luca Zidane, Oussama Benbot, Anthony Mandrea
Defenders: Rafik Belghali, Rayan A‹t-Nouri, Youcef Atal, Mehdi Dorval, Jaouen Hadjam, Zinedine Belaid, Ramy Bensebaïni, Samir Chergui, Aïssa Mandi, Mohamed Tougai
Midfielders: Ismael Bennacer, Rami Zerrouki, Adam Zorgan, Hicham Boudaoui, Houssem Aouar, Ibrahim Maza, Fares Chaibi
Forwards: Mohamed Amoura, Ilan Kebbal, Riyad Mahrez, Anis Hadj Moussa, Adil Boulbina, Monsef Bakrar, Baghdad Bounedjah, Redouane Barkane
Source: AFP
