Zidane holds dual citizenship of both France and Algeria, and therefore could have played for Algeria. However, coach A.Kermali denied him a position on the team, arguing that the young midfielder was not fast enough. This rumor was dismissed by Zidane himself though, saying it was not possible for it to happen as he had already played for France before.
He earned his first cap with the French national football team on 17 August 1994, coming on as a substitute in the 63rd minute of a friendly match against the Czech Republic. France was behind 0-2 when Zidane came on and scored two goals for a 2-2 draw.
European Footballer of theyear (Ballon d'Or) awarded to Zidane in 1998
At that time, manager A.Jacquet had planned to field the team around Manchester United star Eric Cantona, but after Cantona earned a year long suspension in January of 1995 (he launched a 'kung-fu' style kick against an allegedly abusive Crystal Palace fan, Matthew Simmons), Jacquet rearranged the team and positioned Zidane as playmaker. Despite criticism from fans and pundits regarding the choice of players, France made it to the semi-finals of the Euro 1996, where the Czechs beat France on 6-5 on penalties (0-0 after extra time).
In 1995 Zinedine Zidane may have become another high profile signing for Blackburn Rovers during the Jack Walker era. Kenny Dalglish had wanted to sign both Zidane and C.Dugarry who were playing in France for FC Girondins de Boredeaux, however Walker reportedly said to Dalglish: "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"