The 1978 FIFA World Cup took place in Argentina from 1 June to 25 June 1978. For the first time in 16 years, the tournament returned to South America. 16 teams from 5 confederations participated in the final tournament: 10 from Europe (UEFA), 3 from South America (CONMEBOL), 1 from North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF), 1 from Africa (CAF), and 1 from Asia (AFC). Two teams made their first World Cup presentation (Iran and Tunisia).
There were some interesting facts in this World Cup. Tunisia made history becoming the first African team to win a game in a World Cup after beating Mexico 3-1. Tunisia then tied the world champion West Germany 0-0, but their effort was not enough to advance to the next stage. Iran, another World Cup debutant, gained a point against Scotland. Rob Rensenbrink of the Netherlands scored the goal number 1000 in World Cup history. On the other hand, Willie Johnston from Scotland was expelled from the World Cup after he was found to have taken a banned stimulant in the game against Peru.
There were some on-field controversies as well. One of them happened during the game between Brazil and Sweden. Brazil was awarded a corner kick that resulted in a goal. However, this was not awarded because the referee Clives Thomas from Wales whistled the end of the game while the ball was headed to the network. The other one happened in the game between Argentina and Peru. It was stated that Argentine President, the dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, struck a deal with the government of Peru that ensured Argentina would proceed to the final. Argentina would provide a ship full of grain to Peru, while Peru had to allow Argentina to win with a margin that was large enough to advance to the final. The Peruvian goalkeeper, Ramón Quiroga, was born in Argentina and that added more controversy to the issue. Argentina needed to win by four goals to reach the final when they thumped Peru 6-0. In February 2012, several media outlets reported that FIFA will start an inquiry concerning the Argentina Peru game; however, FIFA officially denied this.
Regarding games, one of the biggest surprises happened when the legendary Hans Krankl fired Austria to a first victory over West Germans, a match that would become known as the Miracle of Cordoba. Austria beat West Germany 3-2, which marked their end as World Champions. Both Austria and West Germany had already given a notice in the first round. West Germany finished second in the group behind Poland, while Austria finished ahead of Brazil in Group 3. Brazil went home undefeated. Another surprise in the first round happened in group 4. Peru pushed the Netherlands into second place. The Netherlands drew with Peru 0-0, and lost to Scotland 3-2 in one of the best games of the tournament. Archibald Gemmill of Scotland scored two goals, and the second one is among the best ever scored at the World Cup. The goal is so famous that it sometimes overshadows a successful career in which he won three English league titles. The Netherlands only could beat Iran 3-0 in the first round. However, it is worth noting the Dutch began to show their class, played very well in the second round, and reached the final.
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was contested at Monumental, Buenos Aires, before a crowd of 75,000 impassioned and vociferous followers, for the hosts, Argentina led by Mario Kempes, and the Netherlands and their Total Football, although without its star Johan Cruyff who had chosen to miss the finals. Argentina beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time winning the first World Cup title. Rob Rensenbrink hit the woodwork in the last minute of regulation time, denying the Dutch their first world title. Mario Kempes, El Matador, who finished top scorer of the tournament and made the difference in Argentina, scored twice in the final, including the winner in extra time. The game was also controversial, as the Dutch accused the Argentines of using stalling tactics to delay the match, while Argentines claimed the legality of a plaster cast on René van de Kerkhof's wrist. The Netherlands, because of the controversial game events and adding another controversy, refused to attend the post-match ceremonies after the match ended -1-. This was the fifth time the host country wins the World Cup.
The top scorer (Golden Shoe) of the tournament was Mario Kempes of Argentina, who would go on to score six goals. Antonio Cabrini of Italy was elected best young player. Argentina, on the other hand, received the FIFA Fair Play award. The names that people probably remember from those times are: Ubaldo Fillol (Argentine goalkeeper), Dino Zoff (Italian goalkeeper), Sepp Maier (German goalkeeper), Berti Vogts (German defender), Ruud Krol (Dutch defender), Nelinho (Brazilian defender), Alberto Tarantini (Argentine defender), Antonio Cabrini (Italian defender and best young player), Héctor Chumpitaz (Peruvian defender), Daniel Passarella (Argentine defender), Władysław Żmuda (Polish defender), Michel Platini (French midfielder), Kazimierz Deyna (Polish midfielder), René Houseman (Argentine midfielder), Osvaldo Ardiles (Argentine midfielder), Johan Neeskens (Dutch midfielder), Toninho Cerezo (Brazilian midfielder), Dirceu (Brazilian midfielder), Zico (Brazilian midfielder), Archibald Gemmill (Scottish midfielder), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (German striker), Hugo Sánchez (Mexican striker), Kenny Dalghlish (Scottish striker), Daniel Bertoni (Argentine striker), Rob Rensenbrink (Dutch striker), Leopoldo Luque (Argentine striker), Teófilo Cubillas (Peruvian striker), Grzegorz Lato (Polish striker), Hans Krankl (Austrian striker), Roberto Bettega (Italian striker), Paolo Rossi (Italian striker), and Mario Kempes (Argentine striker and Golden Shoe).
Argentina was chosen to host the 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, at the FIFA Congress in London, England, on 6 July 1966. The hosts for the World Cups of 1974, 1978 and 1982 were awarded at the same conference. There were two bids to host the 1978 FIFA World Cup: Argentina, and Mexico. However, Mexico agreed to withdraw from the bidding process as they had won hosting for the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina suffered a military coup just two years before the World Cup and was under a state of siege and a brutal dictatorship headed
by General Videla. Thousands of people have been killed, including General Omar Actis president of the World Cup Organizing Committee, with many more jailed and tortured. For that reason, some countries, including the Dutch who talked openly about boycotting the tournament, considered publicly whether they should participate in the cup in protest against Videla's totalitarian regime and its violation of human rights. However, Videla avoided the potential embarrassment by guaranteeing there would be no bloodshed during the tournament, and finally all teams took part in the World Cup. The 11th World Cup went happily by without a major incident of violence.
Qualification
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Participating countries:
105
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Withdrew:
8
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Qualified automatically:
2
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Teams that played at least one qualifying match:
95
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Matches:
252
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Total goals:
723 (2.87 per match)
A total of 105 teams signed up to participate in the 1978 World Cup qualification rounds setting a new record number for the qualifying tournament. Argentina, as the hosts, and West Germany, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
Some very important teams had problems in the qualification rounds, and finally failed to qualify for the final tournament. They were England, the European champion Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Soviet Union. The 14 available spots were distributed in continental zones as shown below:
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Europe (UEFA): 9.5 spots. 31 teams competed for 8 direct places. The winner of the other 0.5 place would progress to the international playoff against a team from CONMEBOL. West Germany, as the defending champion, qualified directly.
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South America (CONMEBOL): 3.5 spots. 9 teams competed for 2 direct places. The winner of the other 0.5 place would progress to the international playoff against a team from UEFA. Argentina, as the hosts, qualified automatically.
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North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 1 spot. 16 teams competed for only 1 direct place.
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Africa (CAF): 1 spot. 26 teams competed for only 1 direct place. Central African Republic, Sudan, Tanzania and Zaire withdrew.
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Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC): 1 spot. 21 teams competed for 1 direct place. Sri Lanka, North Korea, Iraq and United Arab Emirates withdrew.
Bolivia, from CONMEBOL, and Hungary, from UEFA, advanced to the international play-off. Hungary defeated Bolivia twice. The first time 6-0 in Budapest on 29 October 1977, and the second time 3-2 in La Paz on 30 November 1977. Hungary, therefore, qualified for the World Cup.
A total of 95 teams played at least one qualifying match, 252 qualifying matches were played, and 723 goals were scored establishing three new records.
For a complete list of all squads that appeared in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, please, visit: 1978 World Cup squads
Match officials
35 match officials from 29 countries and 5 confederation were the responsible for enforcing the laws of the game during the course of the 38 world cup matches.
The Golden Boot or Golden Shoe Award is granted to the top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup. The first time an award was given was in 1982, under the name Golden Shoe. However, FIFA lists the top goalscorers of previous Cups among the Golden Boot winners.
Absolute frequency is a statistical term describing the number of times a particular piece of data, or value, appears during a trial or set of trials. Essentially, it is the number of times a particular thing happens. For example, in this World Cup one player from Netherlands scored six goals, another one scored three goals, two more score two goals, and three more scored one goal. The sum of the absolute frequency represents the number of players that scored at least one goal (7 players in the case of Netherlands: 1 + 1 + 2 + 3 = 7). The sum of the product between the number of times per value results in the number of goals for a team (16 goals in the case of Netherlands: 1*5 + 1*3 + 2*2 + 3*1 = 15)
35 match officials from 29 countries and 5 confederation were the responsible for enforcing the laws of the game during the course of the 38 world cup matches.
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The order of the table is based on the matches as referee.
This section presents the statistics of all dissmissals and cautions since the first 1930 FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay. However, the use of red and yellow cards to indicate sent-off and cautions were officially introduced at the 1970 World Cup.
Teams' discipline
Red cards are one of the most remarkable event that can impact the outcome of a game after goals and penalties. The team receiving the red card is in a vulnerable position and faces a significant disadvantage, mainly if it occurs in the first half. The opposing side on the other hand, receives the advantage and the score is more likely to be in their favor.
The top scorer (Golden Shoe) of the tournament was Mario Kempes from Argentina, who would go on to score six goals. The best young player of the tournament was Antonio Cabrini from Italy. The best goalkeeper was Ubaldo Fillol from Argentina. The names that people probably remember from those times are:
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