Two weeks before the African Cup of Nations, Luca Zidane, who should be called up to the Algerian team for the tournament, lost his starting place in Granada in Liga 2!
Luca Zidane probably didn’t expect that. The goalkeeper son of “Zizou” became an Algerian international on October 14 during a match against Uganda in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. With the approach of the 2025 African Cup of Nations in Morocco (December 21, 2025-January 18, 2026), Vladimir Petkovic made the 27-year-old player the new understudy for Alexis Guendouz, a number 1 who seems a little feverish in the cages of the Greens.
However, Luca Zidane suddenly lost his starting place at Granada, his Liga 2 club. The former U20 tricolor withdrew from the last two matches of the Algerian selection due to an adductor injury and, back in Andalusia, he saw his replacement take his place! Two weeks before the CAN, it is not ideal for this new Algerian international who has a good chance of experiencing his first African tournament.
Like last week against his younger brother Théo’s Cordoba, Luca Zidane remained on the bench during the Granada match on the Cultural Leonesa field, Saturday afternoon in northern Spain. The Nazaries won 1-0 on a goal from Jorge Pascual, a striker trained at Villarreal, and Ander Astralaga saved his team by making four saves.
Zidane beaten by a Barça player
Ander Astralaga has the chance to continue the season as a starter at Granada, the Spanish international hopeful who is on loan from Barça (after being the starting goalkeeper for the B team last season). Pacheta’s team moved up to 14th position in the Segunda Division standings and a new change of goalkeeper seems unlikely in the coming weeks.
Luca Zidane could therefore no longer play before finding
the Algerian team to prepare for the Copa Africana (as the Spanish call it). Riyad Mahrez and his teammates will face Sudan on December 24, Burkina Faso on the 28th then Equatorial Guinea on the 31st in the group stage.
