New Delhi: France and Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane had a front-row seat to a special moment as his son Luca Zidane made his senior debut for Algeria in a dominating 3-0 victory against Sudan in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Wednesday, December 24.
The former legend was in the stands at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium, drawing massive attention from fans whenever he appeared on the big screen. Algeria started their Group E campaign in a winning style, with captain Riyad Mahrez scoring a brace and young midfielder Ibrahim Maza also finding the net.
Luca got his chance to debut after first-choice goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja was sidelined with an injury. He opted to play for Algeria, which is his grandfather’s country and looked assured between the posts, delivering a good performance.
Zidane is a proud dad. 🥹#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | #WePlayDifferent pic.twitter.com/jOcESKiQVF
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 24, 2025
Algeria 3-0 Sudan
Algeria scored the first goal of the match, with Mahrez netting in the second minute after being assisted by Hicham Boudaoui. Sudan looked threatening on the counter, but goalkeeper Luca was alert to deny Yaser Awad from scoring. He again stepped in when Sudan found big pockets of space despite being under sustained pressure from Algeria.
Sudan were reduced to 10 men just before the halftime when Salah Adil received a second yellow card after a foul on Rayan At-Nouri. Algeria had a player advantage and controlled the game in the second half, but they remained patient before Maharez scored the second goal in the 61st minute.
The victory was sealed when substitute Ibrahim Maza netted the third goal of the game in the 85th minute, helping Algeria to move to the top of Group E with a dominating win. Algeria will next take on Burkina Faso, while Sudan will face Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, 28 December.