The international break is often accused of not many bringing stories to the table, although that certainly wasn’t the case for Newcastle United icon David Ginola almost 30 years ago.
Ginola is one of Newcastle United’s best-ever wingers but had a somewhat complicated relationship with the French national team.
Back in his native France, Ginola shot to fame while playing for Toulon, Racing Paris, Brest and Paris Saint-Germain.
By the time he arrived at Newcastle United in 1995, he was a genuine world star who many expected to join Real Madrid or Barcelona after leaving PSG.
Still, Ginola only won 17 France caps and that is largely because of one high-profile mistake.
The David Ginola mistake that cost France a place at the 1994 World Cup
The French were not quite the powerhouses of the international stage they would later become in 1998 and 2000, but they still had a fine team.
Ginola formed part of an all-star team alongside the likes of Eric Cantona, Emmanuel Petit, Didier Deschamps and Jean-Pierre Papin.
Still, they still hadn’t sealed qualification for the 1994 World Cup by the time November 1993 rolled around.
Les Bleus, however, needed only a point against Bulgaria to seal their spot when the two met at the Parc des Princes.
Cantona had given his country the lead and though Emil Kostadinov pulled one back, France were holding on until the 90th minute and duly looked set to qualify.
However, here’s where everything changed for Ginola in France. Rather than keep hold of possession in the dying embers of the game, he overhit a cross for Cantona.
Bulgaria recovered the ball and scored a last-minute winner to seal their place in the finals at the expense of the French.
The French media blamed David Ginola alone for France’s failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup
Gerard Houllier, who would later manage Liverpool and Aston Villa, was in charge of France at the time and claimed Ginola had sent a “missile” through his time with that late decision.
French football expert Julien Laurens, meanwhile, told Sky Sports in the video above: “You knew that there would be really one culprit and that there would be somebody taking all the blame.
“It was literally saying it was David’s fault. It’s because of him that we lost.
“We haven’t seen, I think, a manager coming out after one game and blaming, namely a player like that. He was on TV for the news, on the radio, newspapers.
“Paris, France, football – everybody was all was just talking.”
Ginola’s France career never really recovered. He made a few appearances after but was well out of the picture by the time his country hosted the 1998 World Cup, which they duly won.
Luckily, he found a happy place to play in Newcastle, although his time at the club lasted all too briefly.
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