Luca Zidane dropped from Algeria squad for AFCON qualifiers

Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane was left out of the national team squad on Thursday ahead of two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Togo, coach Brahim Hemdani said.

Zidane, 28, has recently been missing from the Algerian team, owing to injury and a two-game suspension over scuffles during an AFCON game against Nigeria in January.

But his exclusion was “based on sporting criteria”, Hemdani told journalists. “I need to have three goalkeepers who were getting as much playing time as possible.”

Hemdani called up USM Alger goalkeeper Oussama Benbot alongside Melvin Mastil of Swiss club Lausanne-Sport and Abdelatif Ramdane of MC Alger.

Zidane, a son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane, joined the Fennecs after changing his sporting nationality in September 2025 to represent Algeria, where his family has roots.

The Leganes goalkeeper’s absence came as a surprise, along with that of Manchester City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Ait-Nouri had been sent home in September following a reported dispute with the coaching staff during a match against Zambia.

But Hemdani said there had been “no problem” after his choice not to include the left-back in his next 26-man squad, adding that there were “criteria for inclusion”.

“However, anything is possible in the future, and no one has been permanently excluded,” the coach said.

Algeria are set to face Togo on November 14 and 17. They have four points from two games and are currently top of AFCON qualification Group I, which includes Zambia and Burundi.

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