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1978 FIFA World Cup
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Everything about 1978 Fifa World Cup totally explained

The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the World Cup, was held in Argentina between June 1 and June 25. Argentina was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1966. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina who became the sixth team (after Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, Brazil, and England) to be world champions.

Qualification

England failed to qualify for the second World Cup in succession, losing out to Italy. Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union also failed to make it through the qualifying tournament. Newcomers to the finals included Iran and Tunisia, and France were back for the first time since 1966.

Summary

First Round

The format of the competition stayed the same as in 1974: 16 teams qualified, divided into four groups of four. The top two teams in each group would advance to the second round, where they'd be split into two groups of four. The winners of each group would play each other in the final, and the second place finishers in the third place match.
   A controversial fact surrounding the 1978 World Cup was that Argentina had suffered a military coup only two years before the cup. Because of this, some countries, most notably the Netherlands, considered publicly whether they should participate in the cup. Despite this, all teams eventually participated without restrictions. Allegations that Dutch star Johan Cruijff refused to participate because of political convictions were refuted by himself 30 years later. Controversy surrounded the host, Argentina, as all of their games in the first round kicked of at nights to give Argentina the advantage of knowing where they stood in the group. This would come into special use in the Second Group Round and in Spain 1982 which prompted FIFA to change the World Cup format.
   The first round produced several surprises. Poland won Group 2 ahead of world champions West Germany, after holding the Germans to a goalless draw and then beating Tunisia and Mexico. The Germans played out a second goalless draw against Tunisia, and only redeemed themselves with a 6-0 thrashing of Mexico. Although they failed to qualify for the second round, Tunisia made history by beating Mexico 3-1. It was the first time that any African team had won a match at the World Cup finals. Peru pushed the Netherlands into second place in Group 4, where Scotland missed out on goal difference for the second successive tournament. Teofilo Cubillas was outstanding for Peru, scoring twice against Scotland in Peru's 3-1 win and hitting a hat-trick in their 4-1 victory over Iran. Rob Rensenbrink of the Netherlands also scored three times against Iran, scoring all the goals as the Dutch won 3-0.
   The biggest surprise of all came in Group 3, where Austria finished ahead of Brazil. The Austrians beat Spain and Sweden, while Brazil were held to draws by the same two teams. Brazil needed to beat Austria in their final group game to be sure of progressing to the second round, and managed a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Roberto Dinamite. Brazil and Austria thus finished with the same number of points and the same goal difference, but Austria won the group by virtue of having scored more goals.
   Group 1 had the strongest line-up of teams in the first round, featuring Italy, the host Argentina, France and Hungary. The two places in the second round were claimed before the final round of games, with Italy and Argentina both beating France and Hungary. The Italy-Argentina game decided who topped the group, and a goal from Roberto Bettega midway through the second half was enough to give that honour to Italy. It also forced Argentina to move out of Buenos Aires and play in Rosario.

Second Group Round

In the all-European Group A, the Netherlands got off to a flying start by thrashing Austria 5-1, Jonny Rep scoring two of their goals. In a rematch of the 1974 final, the Dutch then drew 2-2 with West Germany, who had previously shared a goalless game with Italy. The Italians beat Austria 1-0, and so the Netherlands faced Italy in their last group game knowing that the winners would reach the final. Erny Brandts scored an 18th-minute own goal to put Italy ahead at half-time, but he made up for his mistake by scoring at the right end in the fifth minute of the second half. Adrianus Haan got the winner for the Dutch with 15 minutes remaining, and the Netherlands had reached their second successive World Cup Final. West Germany were surprisingly beaten by Austria 2-3 which marked their end as World Champions.
   Group B was essentially a battle between Argentina and Brazil, and it was resolved in controversial circumstances. In the first round of group games, Brazil beat Peru 3-0 while Argentina saw off Poland 2-0. Brazil and Argentina then played out a tense and violent goalless draw, so both teams went into the last round of matches with three points. Brazil beat Poland 3-1 in their final match and Argentina's game with Peru kicked off soon after with the hosts knowing they'd to beat Peru by four clear goals to go through to the final. Argentina managed it with what some saw as a suspicious degree of ease. Trailing 2-0 at half-time, Peru simply collapsed in the second half, and Argentina eventually won 6-0. Brazil spread dark rumours suggesting that Peru might have been somehow illicitly induced not to try too hard (especially because the Peruvian goalkeeper, Ramón Quiroga, was born in Argentina); but nothing could be proved, and Argentina met the Netherlands in the final. Brazil, denied a final place by Argentina's 6-0 win over Peru, took third place from an enterprising Italy side and were dubbed "moral champions" by coach Cláudio Coutinho, because they didn't win the tournament, but didn't lose a single match either.

The Final

The final, Argentina vs Netherlands, was also controversial, as the Dutch accused the Argentineans of using stalling tactics to delay the match. The host team came out late and questioned the legality of a plaster cast on René van de Kerkhof's wrist -- allowing tension to build for the visitors in front of a hostile Buenos Aires crowd. The Netherlands refused to attend the post-match ceremonies after the match ended. Argentina won the final 3-1 after extra time, with two goals from Mario Kempes, who was also the tournament's top scorer with six goals. The Netherlands lost their second World Cup final in a row, both times to the host nation, after losing to West Germany in 1974.

Mascot

The official mascot of this World Cup was Gauchito, a boy wearing an Argentina strip. His hat (with the words ARGENTINA '78), neckerchief and whip are typical of gauchos.

Venues

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Cordoba
Estadio Monumental Estadio José Amalfitani Estadio Chateau Carreras
Capacity: 76,000 Capacity: 49,540 Capacity: 46,083
Mar del Plata Rosario Mendoza
Estadio José María Minella Estadio Gigante de Arroyito Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza
Capacity: 43,542 Capacity: 41,654 Capacity: 34,875

Match officials

Africa

Squads

For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1978 FIFA World Cup squads.

Results

First round

All times local (UTC-3)

Group 1

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 6
3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 4
3 1 0 2 5 5 0 2
3 0 0 3 3 8 -5 0
|report = (Report) |score = 2 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Rossi
Zaccarelli |goals2 = Lacombe |stadium = Estadio José Maria Minella, Mar del Plata |attendance = 38,100 |referee = Nicolae Rainea (Romania) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 2 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Luque
Bertoni |goals2 = Csapó |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 71,615 |referee = Antonio Garrido (Portugal) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Rossi
Bettega
Benetti |goals2 = A. Tóth |stadium = Estadio José Maria Minella, Mar del Plata |attendance = 26,533 |referee = Ramon Barreto (Uruguay) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 2 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Passarella
Luque |goals2 = Platini |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 71,666 |referee = Jean Dubach (Switzerland) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Lopez
Berdoll
Rocheteau |goals2 = Zombori |stadium = Estadio José Maria Minella, Mar del Plata |attendance = 23,127 |referee = Arnaldo Cézar Coelho (Brazil) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = Bettega |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 71,712 |referee = Abraham Klein (Israel) }}

Group 2

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 5
3 1 2 0 6 0 +6 4
3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 3
3 0 0 3 2 12 -10 0
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 67,579 |referee = Angel Norberto Coerezza (Argentina) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Kaabi
Ghommidh
Dhouib |goals2 = Vázquez Ayala |stadium = Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario |attendance = 17,396 |referee = John Gordon (Scotland) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 6 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = D. Müller
H. Müller
Rummenigge
Flohe |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 35,258 |referee = Farouk Bouzo (Syria) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Lato |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario |attendance = 9,624 |referee = Angel Franco Martínez (Spain) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Olímpico Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 30,667 |referee = César Guerrero Orosco (Peru) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Boniek
Deyna |goals2 = Rangel |stadium = Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario |attendance = 22,651 |referee = Jaffar Namdar (Iran) }}

Group 3

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 4
3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 4
3 1 1 1 2 2 0 3
3 0 1 2 1 3 -2 1
|report = (Report) |score = 2 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Schachner
Krankl |goals2 = Dani |stadium = Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires |attendance = 40,841 |referee = Károly Palotai (Hungary) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Reinaldo |goals2 = Sjöberg |stadium = Estadio José Maria Minella, Mar del Plata |attendance = 32,569 |referee = Clive Thomas (Wales) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Krankl |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires |attendance = 41,424 |referee = Charles Corver (Netherlands) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio José Maria Minella, Mar del Plata |attendance = 34,771 |referee = Sergio Gonella (Italy) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Asensi |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires |attendance = 46,765 |referee = Ferdinand Biwersi (West Germany) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Roberto Dinamite |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio José Maria Minella, Mar del Plata |attendance = 35,221 |referee = Robert Wurtz (France) }}

Group 4

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 5
3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 3
3 1 1 1 5 6 -1 3
3 0 1 2 2 8 -6 1
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Cueto
Cubillas |goals2 = Jordan |stadium = Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 37,927 |referee = Ulf Eriksson (Sweden) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Rensenbrink |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza, Mendoza |attendance = 33,431 |referee = González Archundía (Mexico) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Eskandarian |goals2 = Danaeifard |stadium = Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 7,938 |referee = Youssou N'Diaye (Senegal) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza, Mendoza |attendance = 28,125 |referee = Adolf Prokop (East Germany) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 4 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Velásquez
Cubillas |goals2 = Rowshan |stadium = Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 21,262 |referee = Ałek Jąrguz (Poland) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 2 |team2 = |goals1 = Dalglish
Gemmill |goals2 = Rensenbrink
Rep |stadium = Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza, Mendoza |attendance = 35,130 |referee = Erich Linemayr (Austria) }}

Second Group Round

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 2 1 0 9 4 +5 5
3 1 1 1 2 2 0 3
3 0 2 1 4 5 -1 2
3 1 0 2 4 8 -4 2
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 5 |team2 = |goals1 = Obermayer |goals2 = Brandts
Rensenbrink
Rep
W. van de Kerkhof |stadium = Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 25,050 |referee = John Gordon (Scotland) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 67,547 |referee = Dušan Maksimović (Yugoslavia) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 2 – 2 |team2 = |goals1 = Haan
R. van de Kerkhof |goals2 = Abramczik
D. Müller |stadium = Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 25,050 |referee = John Gordon (Scotland) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Rossi |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 66,695 |referee = Francis Rion (Belgium) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 3 – 2 |team2 = |goals1 = Vogts
Krankl |goals2 = Rummenigge
Hölzenbein |stadium = Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba |attendance = 38,318 |referee = Abraham Klein (Israel) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 2 |team2 = |goals1 = Brandts |goals2 = Brandts
Haan |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 67,433 |referee = Angel Franco Martínez (Spain) }}

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 2 1 0 8 0 +8 5
3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 5
3 1 0 2 2 5 -3 2
3 0 0 3 0 10 -10 0
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 3 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = Dirceu
Zico |stadium = Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza, Mendoza |attendance = 31,278 |referee = Nicolae Rainea (Romania) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 2 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Kempes |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario |attendance = 37,091 |referee = Ulf Eriksson (Sweden) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = Szarmach |stadium = Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza, Mendoza |attendance = 35,288 |referee = Pat Partridge (England) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 0 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario |attendance = 37,326 |referee = Károly Palotai (Hungary) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 3 |team2 = |goals1 = Lato |goals2 = Nelinho
Roberto Dinamite |stadium = Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza, Mendoza |attendance = 39,586 |referee = Juan Silvagno Cavanna (Chile) }}
|report = (Report) |score = 6 – 0 |team2 = |goals1 = Kempes
Tarantini
Luque
Houseman |goals2 = |stadium = Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario |attendance = 37,315 |referee = Robert Wurtz (France) }}

Third place match

|report = (Report) |score = 2 – 1 |team2 = |goals1 = Nelinho
Dirceu |goals2 = Causio |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 69,659 |referee = Abraham Klein (Israel) }}

Final

|report = (Report) |score = 1 – 3 (a.e.t.) |team2 = |goals1 = Nanninga |goals2 = Kempes
Bertoni |stadium = Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires |attendance = 71,483 |referee = Sergio Gonella (Italy) }}

Winner

Awards

FIFA Fair Play Trophy:

Scorers

6 goals

  • Mario Kempes

    5 goals

  • Rob Rensenbrink
  • Teófilo Cubillas

    4 goals

  • Leopoldo Luque
  • Hans Krankl

    3 goals

  • Dirceu
  • Roberto Dinamite
  • Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
  • Paolo Rossi
  • Johnny Rep

    2 goals

  • Daniel Bertoni
  • Nelinho
  • Heinz Flohe
  • Dieter Müller
  • Roberto Bettega
  • Ernie Brandts
  • Arie Haan
  • Zbigniew Boniek
  • Grzegorz Lato
  • Archie Gemmill

    1 goal

  • René Houseman
  • Daniel Passarella
  • Alberto Tarantini
  • Erich Obermayer
  • Walter Schachner
  • Reinaldo
  • Zico
  • Marc Berdoll
  • Bernard Lacombe
  • Christian Lopez
  • Michel Platini
  • Dominique Rocheteau
  • Rüdiger Abramczik
  • Bernd Hölzenbein
  • Hansi Müller
  • Károly Csapó
  • András Tóth
  • Sándor Zombori
  • Iraj Danaeifard
  • Hassan Rowshan
  • Romeo Benetti
  • Franco Causio
  • Renato Zaccarelli
  • Víctor Rangel
  • Arturo Vázquez Ayala
  • Dick Nanninga
  • René van de Kerkhof
  • Willy van de Kerkhof
  • César Cueto
  • José Velásquez
  • Kazimierz Deyna
  • Andrzej Szarmach
  • Kenny Dalglish
  • Joe Jordan
  • Juan Manuel Asensi
  • Dani
  • Thomas Sjöberg
  • Mokhtar Dhouib
  • Néjib Ghommidh
  • Ali Kaabi

    Own goals

  • Berti Vogts (for Austria)
  • Andranik Eskandarian (for Scotland)
  • Ernie Brandts (for Italy)

    Other facts

  • Argentina was a candidate to host the 1970 World Cup, but since Mexico City was hosting the 1968 Summer Olympics and had constructed new football stadia, it went to Mexico.
  • The Netherlands's Rob Rensenbrink's goal against Scotland was the 1000th goal of World Cup history.
  • Scotland's Willie Johnston was expelled from the World Cup after he was found to have taken a banned stimulant during the opening game against Peru.
  • At the final minutes of the Brazil vs Sweden match, the Brazilians were awarded a corner kick that resulted in a goal (which would have given Brazil a 2-1 victory). However, the goal wasn't awarded, because the referee Clive Thomas had whistled the end of the game as the ball was being kicked into the area. The Brazilian players were not happy with the decision, but the final result remained a 1-1 draw.

    Firsts

  • Tunisia was the first African team to win a match in World Cup finals, beating Mexico 3-1.
  • This edition was the first appearance of Coca-Cola in the FIFA World Cup as a sponsor.
  • For the 1978 World Cup, FIFA introduced the penalty shootout as a means of determining the winner in knockout stages should the match end on a draw after 120 minutes. The method, however, wasn't put in practice as both the third-place match and the final were decided before 120 minutes. The first World Cup to feature a penalty shootout was the 1982 World Cup, in the semifinal match between France and West Germany.Further Information

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