site.btaNovember 17, 1993: Bulgaria Qualifies for 1994 FIFA World Cup as Emil Kostadinov Scores a Winner against France

On November 17, 1993, Bulgaria defeated France 2-1 in the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris and qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. "God is Bulgarian!" cried commentator Nikolay "Michmana" Kolev when Emil Kostadinov scored a last-minute winner.

Following are excerpts from BTA's coverage of the event:

Paris, November 17, 1993 (BTA special correspondent Nikolay Zografov) - France and Bulgaria played the Group 6 last qualifier for the FIFA World Cup in the Parc des Princes stadium. It was a decisive match for both teams, but the Bulgarians had no option but to win so as to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.

Head coach Dimitar Penev's squad started the match with confidence against the Gallic roosters. In fact, a rooster walked onto the pitch of the famous Paris stadium and the match was interrupted for nearly two minutes. (...)

The Bulgaria team was in for a nasty surprise in the 32nd minute when Eric Cantona scored. The Bulgarians struck back when Emil Kostadinov scored a header in the 37th minute.

In the second half the French controlled the midfield and all was calm in front of goalkeeper Bernard Lama for a long time.

In the last minutes of the match, thousands of French people were singing the national anthem, celebrating the victory which would send France to the 1994 World Cup. In the very last minute, Emil Kostadinov scored, with an assist by Lyuboslav Penev, for a 1-2 win for Bulgaria. 

The French were not hiding their tears while the Bulgarians rejoiced.

***

Paris, November 18, 1993 (BTA): The two coaches commented after the World Cup qualifier:

Gerard Houllier (France): This was the most disastrous scenario for us. I am extremely unhappy for the players. They worked for 11 months to qualify. I still think France was eliminated a bit unfairly.

Dimitar Penev (Bulgaria): My squad and I dedicate the victory and qualification for the World Cup to the whole Bulgarian nation. As for me, I participated as a player in three World Cup finals. Now I will be there as a coach for the first time. I think we can do some good things in the United States. 

In 1994, Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup semi-finals after defeating Germany 2-1 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final against Italy, Bulgaria lost 1-2. In the 3rd place match against Sweden, Bulgaria lost 0-4 and remained in 4th place in the final standings.