Luca Zidane targeted online after errors against Messi's Argentina

Luca Zidane failed to make a successful World Cup debut. Starting in goal for Algeria against Argentina, the goalkeeper was directly at fault for the first two goals scored by Lionel Messi, offering an easy target for criticism on social media.

Since the match, old videos of his mistakes have resurfaced online, and several users have repurposed Jonathan David’s hat-trick against Qatar to highlight his absence from that sequence: “Jonathan David didn’t need Luca Zidane in goal,” was widely posted. The family context inevitably amplifies the pressure: being the son of Zinédine Zidane, one of the greatest footballers in history, exposes every performance to an extraordinary level of scrutiny.

Luca Zidane himself does not shy away from the subject. In an interview with the show El Chiringuito, he recently drew a clear line: “It’s part of my life, I accept it, I’m used to it, it doesn’t bother me to be called ‘Zidane’s son’. What annoys me is when people say that everything I’ve achieved is because of my father.”

Despite the criticism, the Algerian manager maintains his confidence in him. Luca Zidane is expected to defend the Fennecs’ goal in the team’s second match against Jordan. His performance will, more than ever, be scrutinized.