Salah targets glory as Luca Zidane faces ultimate test

NIGERIAN sharpshooters Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will provide a stern test for the flawless record of Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane — son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane — in the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals in Morocco.

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ALGERIA'S goalkeeper Luca Zidane is yet to concede a goal at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. I AFP

(AFP)

Zidane is the only first-choice goalkeeper among the eight quarter-finalists to have kept a clean sheet in all of his tournament matches so far, but the task facing him in Marrakesh tomorrow will be formidable. Former African Footballer of the Year winners Osimhen and Lookman have tormented defences throughout the tournament, scoring three goals each.

Zidane, 27, kept clean sheets in group matches against Sudan and Burkina Faso, before being rested against Equatorial Guinea. He was recalled for the last-16 clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo and was again unbeaten during a dramatic extra-time victory.

Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, along with his wife and another son, have been among the crowds for every match Luca has played for the Desert Foxes.

“It is special when your family come to watch," said Luca Zidane, who began his career with Real Madrid B in 2016 and now plays for Spanish second-tier side Granada. Born in France, Zidane represented his country of birth at five age-group levels.