Father and Son Footballers who played for different nations

 

A number of father-and-son footballers have surprisingly not played for different national teams due to a various number of reasons.

Football often runs in the family. Ideally, they all shine and have a chance to play for the same national team. Unfortunately, in some families, it is not always the same. The father sometimes becomes the star while the son barely can match the father’s stardom, or the other way around.

Having a father who was also a famous footballer does not always give you an advantage. On the contrary, it can put huge pressure on the son, which eventually has an impact on their form. Such could lead to their failure to earn a cap in his father’s national team. Let alone thrive with them.

That is what Luca Zidane experiences. He is the son of Zinedine Zidane, Les Blues' hero in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2000. His father was undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers of all time with three FIFA Best awards in hand.

On the other hand, Luca has never had his future with Les Blues. Despite having been part of the France youth sides in different age groups from U16 to U20, the 27-year-old goalkeeper has never been under Les Blues senior team radar. In September 2025, the second son of Zizou eventually opted to switch allegiance to Algeria, as he is eligible through his father’s ancestor.

The current Granada man finally got a call-up for his first major international tournament, 2025 AFCON. Algeria’s boss, Vladimir Petkovic, has included him in the final squad, and he has made four appearances so far, including three games in the 2026 AFCON, where he still keeps his clean sheets. Unfortunately, he was unable to help the team to advance to semifinal following their 2-0 loss to Nigeria in the quarterfinal. Nevertheless, Luca could even be making his World Cup debut next summer, should he be able to maintain his form.

Luca and Zizou are not exactly the first example of father and son footballers playing for different nations. There have been others with different cases from the French-Algerian pair. Here are the other pairs of father-son footballers with different national teams.

Souleymane and Leroy Sané

The current Germany international, Leroy Sane, also has a footballer father playing for different nations from him. His father was Soulaymane Sane, a Senegalese international in the 1990s. He spent most of his career in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and scored 11 goals in 23 international appearances.

Leroy was born in early 1996 when he was still playing for Switzerland’s Lausanne-Sport. Unlike his father, he has been lucky enough to play for big clubs in his career, such as Manchester City and Bayern Munich, before switching sides to Galatasaray. The winger has been capped 72 times with Die Mannschaft and netted 16 goals so far.

Mazinho and Thiago Alcantara

The current Barcelona assistant manager, Thiago Alcantara, is another example of a footballer who played for a different national team than his father. The former Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder was part of Spain's main squad in EURO 2016 and 2020, plus the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with 46 caps, contributing two goals and nine assists. Unfortunately, Thiago was not exactly the first choice in La Furia Roja.

Such was in contrast to his father, Mazinho. He was the former defensive midfielder for Selecao in the early 1990s. The ex-Fiorentina, Valencia and Celta Vigo man was instrumental in Brazil’s success while clinching Copa America 1989, when he contributed four assists, including one in the final. He was also part of Carlos Alberto Pareira’s squad in USA 1994. Overall, Mazinho made 35 appearances with seven assists.

Thiago was born during Mazinho’s spell in Lecce. He eventually decided to play for Spain, the country he moved to when his father signed for Valencia in summer 1994. Mazinho and his family have stayed in Spain ever since, which helped his sons gain Spanish citizenships. Thiago’s brother, Rafinha, was also eligible to play for La Furia Roja but chose to play for his father’s nation, Brazil, although he was not as successful as his old man. The former Barcelona, PSG and Inter Milan man only played for the Seleção U23 team in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

George Weah and Timothy Weah

Zizou was not the first top player whose son switched allegiance on the international stage. Prior to the French playmaker rising to prominence, the world knew George Weah. He remains the first and only African who won the Ballon d’Or. The former PSG and AC Milan man won the award in 1995. He did help his nation, Liberia, to qualify for AFCON 1996 but could not do much in the tournament.

His son, Timothy, however, has better luck when he chooses to represent USA instead. The current Marseille man was born in New York to George and a Jamaican mother, Clar. At that time, his father was playing for Manchester City.

The versatile winger even made his debut in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and scored one goal at the opener when USMNT held Wales 1-1. The former Lille, PSG and Celtic man has earned 47 caps and bagged seven goals so far. He has been the key man in the USMNT and is expected to shine in the summer.

Roger Lukaku and Romelu – Jordan Lukaku

If Zidane’s heir switches back to his ancestor’s nation, Lukaku does the opposite. Romelu and his brother, Jordan, are the sons of former Zaire international, Roger Lukaku. He was part of the squad when Zaire went through the quarterfinal in the 1996 AFCON. The striker with 13 international caps even netted the opener in a crucial 2-0 win over George Weah’s Liberia in the final game of the group stage to seal one berth in the round of 8.

Overall, Roger bagged six goals for his nation and appeared in two AFCONs, 1994 and 1996, when their campaign ended in the quarterfinals in both editions. His first son, Romelu, was born in 1993 when he was playing for K Boom FC, the modest side in Belgium's top division. They played their last top level in the 1992/93 season when Romelu was born.

Romelu has always been a Belgian and part of Rod Duivel’s golden generation since the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was also his first major international tournament. The current Napoli man has earned 124 appearances at the global stage and netted 89 goals, including five goals in the FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, his brother, Jordan, does not shine as bright as his older brother. The former Lazio man is currently clubless and only played in one major international tournament in his career, EURO 2016.