1978 FIFA World Cup
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The 1978 Football World Cup was held in Argentina between June 1 and 25, 1978.
FIFA awarded the 1978 World Cup to Argentina in July 1966 (FIFA Congress in Tokyo 8 Oct 1964 and in London 6 July 1966). 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.
Entries deadline was set on 31 Aug 1975. 106 teams entered, 97 seeded, 96 actually played. Qualifications were drawn 19 Nov 1975 in Guatemala City.
Finals were drawn 14 Jan 1978 in Buenos Aires.
It 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.
The format of the competition stayed the same as in 1974: 16 teams qualified, divided into four groups of four. Top two teams in each group would advance to the second round, where they would 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.
The Netherlands lost their second World Cup final in a row, both times to the host nation, after losing to West Germany in 1974. Mario Kempes of Argentina led the competition by scoring six goals.
In a first-round game against the Netherlands, Scotland's Archie Gemmill scored a famous goal, which was later made a part of a memorable scene in the movie Trainspotting. Scotland needed to win the game by three goals to advance to the second round, and Gemmill made it 3-1 only for the Dutch to score and deny Scotland with a 3-2 result.
There is a controversy surrounding this World Cup dealing with Argentina's final game in the second round against Peru. Because of goal difference, Argentina needed to defeat Peru by at least four goals to qualify for the final instead of Brazil, thanks to Brazil's 3-1 victory against Poland played a few hours earlier. The Peruvian goalkeeper at the time (Ramón Quiroga) was actually born in Argentina and had, until that game, only let in six goals in five matches. Argentina had only scored six goals in the competition up to this point; they put the same number past Peru, winning 6-0 and advancing to the final. Players of both sides still deny any agreement to favour Argentina. Peru lost 5-1 in the 1982 World Cup to Poland after falling behind by five goals; this time there was no controversy, as this humilliating defeat did not affect any third party.
Qualification
See 1978 FIFA World Cup (qualification).Squads
For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1978 FIFA World Cup squadsFirst round
All times local (UTC -3)Group 1
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Italy | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2
| |
Argentina | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3
| |
France | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
Hungary | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | |
Group 2
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poland | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1
| |
West Germany | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0
| |
Tunisia | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2
| |
Mexico | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | |
Group 3
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2
| |
Brazil | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1
| |
Spain | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Sweden | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Group 4
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peru | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2
| |
Netherlands | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3
| |
Scotland | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | |
Iran | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
- Rob Rensenbrink's goal was the 1000th goal in World cup history.
Second round
Group 1
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Netherlands | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4
| |
Italy | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
West Germany | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
Austria | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |
Group 2
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0
| |
Brazil | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1
| |
Poland | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
Peru | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | |
Third place match
Final
Awards
| 1978 World Cup Winners: |
|---|
|
ARGENTINA First title |
| FIFA Fair Play Trophy: |
|---|
Argentina |