The curse of 3rd/4th place?

Has anybody noticed a sort of 'curse' of finishing 3rd/4th place means the next tournament they'll perform c**p or maybe not even qualify...don't believe me? England finished 4th in '90, didn't qualify for '94, Bulgaria finished 4th in '94, finished last in their group in '98, Holland finished 4th in '98, didn't qualify for '02...well, South Korea are gonna have a hard time anyway with France and Switzerland in their group, and they aren't as good as they were in '02 anymore.

The same curse sometimes goes for 3rd place - OK, maybe not for Italy, who finished third in '90 and went on to runner-up in '94, but Sweden finished 3rd in '94, didn't qualify for '98, Croatia finished 3rd in '98 and then lost to Ecuador and Mexico and didn't get out of the group stage in '02. Turkey finished 3rd in '02 and didn't even qualify for this year's tournament (after a controversial play-off between them and the Swiss).

So, let this be a warning to all team out there in Germany - lose the semi final at your peril!