The 11th edition of the World Cup, football’s greatest tournament, was held in the year 1978. 16 teams from four regions – (East Europe, West Europe, South America, and Rest of the World) – took part in the competition.
Who were the hosts of the 1978 FIFA World Cup?
Argentina was selected as the host for the 1978 World Cup. La Albiceleste, initially, faced competition from Mexico for the hosting rights but in the end, Mexico withdrew their bid as they had hosted the World Cup two editions back in 1970.
What was the format of the 1978 FIFA World Cup?
The format of the 1974 World Cup was followed in this edition as well. 16 teams were divided into four groups equally in the first round and the top two teams would qualify for the second round where eight teams were divided into two groups. From the second round, the top teams from each group would qualify for the final while the second-placed teams would make it to the third-place play-off.
Which teams participated in the qualifying round?
A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification stage. Argentina, as the host nation, and West Germany, as reigning World Cup champions, were granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 14 places divided among the continental confederations.
Eight slots were available for UEFA (Europe), two for CONMEBOL (South America), one for CAF (Africa), one for a team from either the AFC or the OFC (Asia/Oceania), and one for CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean). One spot each was marked for a team that won the intercontinental play-offs between Europe and South America and Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC).
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The teams who eventually played in the World Cup were – Argentina, West Germany, Brazil, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Mexico, Peru, Hungary, Scotland, Spain, Poland, Austria, France, Iran and Tunisia.
Who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup?
Argentina won the World Cup for the first time in their history, beating Netherlands 3-1 in the final.
This edition of the World Cup was full of controversies. To start with, FIFA’s decision of awarding the hosting right to Argentina after The military coup of 1976 was frowned upon by many. Though, during the course of the tournament, the repressive right-wing junta and their left-wing guerrilla adversaries agreed to a temporary truce for the sake of football.
Among the other controversies was the group match between France and Hungary where both teams took the field in the same white jersey due to a backroom mix-up. Ultimately, to avoid confusion, France donned the green stripes of the local side Kimberley de Mar del Plata.
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But perhaps the most controversial tie of the World Cup was between the hosts Argentina and Peru in the final group game of round 2.
Argentina needed to win the tie by four goals at least to progress to the final at the expense of their rivals Brazil who had a better goal difference than Argentina. Peru eventually lost the match 6-0. Later in 2012, in an interview, former Peruvian Senator Genaro Ledesma revealed that the shock result between Argentina and Peru in 1978 was agreed upon before the match by the dictatorships of the two countries. It has to be noted though, that no concrete evidence has been found to support the Senator’s claim.
Who were the top goalscorers at the 1978 FIFA World Cup?
Argentina legend Mario Kempes scored six goals in the tournament and was the top goalscorer.
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