I always found the opening of Woody Allen's movie "Match Point" intriguing. With some bad luck, some great team would have disappeared from history. And then, there were some teams that escaped greatness because of bad luck. All teams mentioned here are great, great teams in my opinion. Bulgaria 1994 was a great example. without luck, they could have disappeared from history. They scored two goals against France on the last match of the WCQers. If Ginola played it smarter, France would have gone and no one would have known about Bulgaria 1994. But don't get me wrong. I always thought that they were a great, great team and Stoichkov is still underrated. Meanwhile, France in 1994 was a great team as well. They could have made the same run as Bulgaria did at the Finals. Poland in 1974 was the one of the most underrated semifinalists in WC history. They were overshadowed by Holland and West Germany. However, they barely managed to qualify for the WC Finals. England surrendered a goal through a mistake first by Norman Hunter and then, a even worst blooper by the great Peter Shilton. The two bloopers put Poland on the soccer's map. Lato, a player I respected, became an all-time great. England, a team that I was not familiar, might or might not be a great team at the WC Finals.
And then, there is Robben...... With just a few inches, he could have scored a goal that might have won Holland a WC. The score was 1-1..... he missed the penalty during extra time. He later did win a CL with Bayern Munich. If he scored the two goals, he would have been ranked much higher as an all-timer.
France may have won as second world cup, if the bar had been hit only a few millimeters below. But it didn't.
This could have been Pele's career. 1958: Pele did not start the first two games. On the third game, Brazil must achieve a result. They turned to Pele and Garrincha. Brazil beat the USSR and the rest was history. What if Brazil stayed with Jose Altafini who was a great attackers of his time? Pele never got his chance. 1962: Injured 1966: Injured as Eusebio and Portugal beat them. 1970: Brazil almost dropped him. Instead, each time, Pele got some break. In American football, Tom Brady was a 6 round draft pick who only got to play because Drew Bledsoe got injured. If Bledsoe remained healthy, Brady might or might not ever get his chance. Perhaps, he got traded to another team. Or he decided to retire instead of sticking around as a backup quaterback. What am I saying? Sometimes, great players never got their chance to shine. Pele would still be great without the WC Finals, but he won't be rated as the greatest ever if he never played in the WC Finals or achievemnet outside the Brazilian league.
The 1994 French national team looked good on paper and would have qualified for the World Cup with 1 point from its last 2 games, but managed to lose both games at home to Israel and then famously to Bulgaria with a last minute goal by Kostadinov. A team that loses twice in a row needing a point can't be considered good IMO.
Remember that the two teams which went through France's group in 1993 were Sweden and Bulgaria. And both teams ended semifinalists at the 1994 world cup. France's elimination was of course fully deserved. And I even believe it brought good experience to the French side which probably helped it eventually in 1996 (semi-finalist) and 1998/2000 (champion). This being said, if we're all honnest, it's absolutely impossible to know what France may have done if it qualified in 1994. As a French supporter, I wouldn't change anything (nothing could be better than our 98 victory), but it's impossible to know. I believe that's part of the beauty of the thing. It all happens in one very moment. And to become a truly great, you have to make it yours.
On the other hand, Bulgaria of 1990's would have disappeared from history if Ginola had done something differently. Stoichkov would be "known" as the player born in the wrong country and missing the WC Finals in his prime. Now, he is known as the best of the best of Bulgaria's golden generation.