Algeria will return to the World Cup stage in 2026 for the first time since 2014. Led by Riyad Mahrez, the former Manchester City and Saudi Pro League star, the team will face defending champions Argentina in Group J – a historic clash. Manager Vladimir Petković guided the team through the CAF qualifiers.

Manager Vladimir Petković has named four goalkeepers for the Desert Foxes: Luca Zidane, Oussama Benbot, Melvin Mastil and Abdelatif Ramdane. Algeria will face Mexico, South Korea and the Czech Republic in Group J. As only three goalkeepers may be officially registered for the tournament, one of the four will be dropped before the first match. The quartet of goalkeepers includes the son of a football legend, a seasoned domestic player with almost 100 Ligue 1 appearances, a 26-year-old talent from the Swiss second division and a regular first-choice goalkeeper from Algeria.

Zidane, the second son of Zinédine Zidane and his Spanish wife Véronique, is 27 years old. He has spent his entire career in his father’s shadow: in the Real Madrid youth system since 2004, promoted to the B team in 2016, and making the odd first-team appearance under his father Zinédine. After Zinédine’s coaching tenure ended, he moved to Rayo Vallecano, Eibar and, since the summer of 2024, to Granada in the Segunda División.

His switch to the national team was the decisive step: having progressed through all the French youth national teams up to the U20s, he switched to the Algerian national team in 2025 via his Algerian paternal grandparents. He made his debut at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco – with his father in the stands. In April 2026, he suffered a broken jaw and chin against Almería and looked set to miss the World Cup. However, just in time for the squad announcement, Petković declared him fit. This season, he has featured in 23 league matches for Granada.

Benbot is 31 years old and the only goalkeeper in the trio to have played exclusively for Algerian clubs. From US Chaouia to USM Bel Abbès, DRB Tadjenanet and AS Aïn M'lila to JS Kabylie, where he made 54 league appearances, and finally, since August 2021, to USM Alger, where he has established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper and extended his contract until 2027. With USM, he featured in the CAF Confederation Cup for three consecutive seasons, producing his strongest international performances. This season, he has made twelve league appearances. With around eleven international caps since 2023, he is the most internationally experienced goalkeeper in the quartet after Zidane.

Mastil is 26 years old, stands 196 cm tall and currently plays in the Swiss Challenge League – the second tier – for Stade Nyonnais, having joined on loan from Lausanne-Sport. His career has been spent entirely in Swiss amateur football: Echichens, FC Azzurri 90 LS, Echallens, Biel-Bienne. This season, he has featured in 32 Challenge League matches and has a FotMob rating of 7.21. He played his only senior international match in 2026 in a friendly against Uruguay – as a substitute. The fact that Petković nominated him nonetheless is either an extraordinary show of confidence or a direct consequence of the injury problems in Algeria’s regular goalkeeping squad.