Luca Zidane Left Out of Algeria’s Squad for AFCON Qualifiers

Algeria’s goalkeeper Luca Zidane has been left out of the national team for two upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Togo. Coach Brahim Hemdani announced the decision on Thursday.

Zidane, who is 28 years old, has missed recent games due to an injury and a two-match suspension from a previous AFCON match against Nigeria in January. Hemdani explained that the decision was based on performance, stating, “I need to have three goalkeepers who were getting as much playing time as possible.”

In Zidane’s place, Hemdani has called up Oussama Benbot from USM Alger, Melvin Mastil from Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland, and Abdelatif Ramdane from MC Alger.

Luca Zidane is the son of French football legend Zinedine Zidane. He joined the Algerian national team in September 2025 after switching his sporting nationality to represent Algeria, where his family has roots.

His exclusion from the squad was unexpected, especially alongside Manchester City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, who was also left out after a reported disagreement with the coaching staff during a match against Zambia. Hemdani clarified that there were no issues regarding Ait-Nouri’s absence, emphasizing that there are specific criteria for selecting players. He added, “However, anything is possible in the future, and no one has been permanently excluded.”

Algeria will play against Togo on November 14 and 17. Currently, they lead Group I of the AFCON qualifiers with four points from two matches, which also includes Zambia and Burundi.