1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Dates | 7 March 1976 – 11 December 1977 |
Teams | 107 (from 6 confederations) |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 252 |
Goals scored | 723 (2.87 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Roberto Bettega (9 goals) |
A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 20 November 1975 at Guatemala City. Argentina, as the hosts, and West Germany, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
The 16 places would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:
- Europe (UEFA): 9 or 10 places. One place went to automatic qualifier West Germany, while nine places were contested by 31 teams. The team coming ninth in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs against a team from CONMEBOL.
- South America (CONMEBOL): 3 or 4 places. One place automatically went to host nation Argentina, while the other three places were contested by nine teams. The team coming third in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs (against a team from UEFA).
- North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 1 place, contested by 17 teams.
- Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 26 teams.
- Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC): 1 place, contested by 22 teams.
A total of 95 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 252 qualifying matches were played, and 723 goals were scored (an average of 2.87 per match).
Continental Zones[]
To see the dates and results of the qualification rounds for each continental zone, click on the following articles:
- Group 1 - Poland qualified.
- Group 2 - Italy qualified.
- Group 3 - Austria qualified.
- Group 4 - Netherlands qualified.
- Group 5 - France qualified.
- Group 6 - Sweden qualified.
- Group 7 - Scotland qualified.
- Group 8 - Spain qualified.
- Group 9 - Hungary advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.
- Brazil and Peru qualified.
- Bolivia advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.
- Mexico qualified.
- Tunisia qualified.
- Iran qualified.
Europe[]
UEFA Group 1[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Poland | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 4 | +13 | 11 |
2 | Portugal | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 9 |
3 | Denmark | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 4 |
4 | Cyprus | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 24 | −21 | 0 |
Poland qualified.
UEFA Group 2[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Italy | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 4 | +14 | 10 |
2 | England | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 10 |
3 | Finland | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 4 |
4 | Luxembourg | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 22 | −20 | 0 |
Italy qualified.
UEFA Group 3[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Austria | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 10 |
2 | East Germany | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 9 |
3 | Turkey | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 5 |
4 | Malta | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 | −27 | 0 |
Austria qualified.
UEFA Group 4[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Netherlands | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 11 |
2 | Belgium | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 |
3 | Northern Ireland | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 5 |
4 | Iceland | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 2 |
Netherlands qualified.
UEFA Group 5[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 5 |
2 | Bulgaria | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
3 | Republic of Ireland | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
France qualified.
UEFA Group 6[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sweden | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 |
2 | Norway | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 |
3 | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 2 |
Sweden qualified.
UEFA Group 7[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Scotland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
2 | Czechoslovakia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 |
3 | Wales | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
Scotland qualified.
UEFA Group 8[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Spain | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
2 | Romania | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 4 |
3 | Yugoslavia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 2 |
Spain qualified.
UEFA Group 9[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hungary | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 |
2 | Soviet Union | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 |
3 | Greece | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 3 |
Hungary advanced to the UEFA–CONMEBOL play-off.
South America[]
CONMEBOL First round[]
Group 1[]
Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brazil | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 |
2 | Paraguay | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
3 | Colombia | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 |
Brazil advanced to the Final Round.
Group 2[]
Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bolivia | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 |
2 | Uruguay | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
3 | Venezuela | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 |
Bolivia advanced to the Final Round.
Group 3[]
Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Peru | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 |
2 | Chile | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 |
3 | Ecuador | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 |
Peru advanced to the Final Round.
CONMEBOL Final round[]
Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brazil | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 |
2 | Peru | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
3 | Bolivia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | −13 |
Brazil and Peru qualified. Bolivia advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.
North, Central America and Caribbean[]
Decided by 1977 CONCACAF Championship.
Inter-confederation play-offs: UEFA v CONMEBOL[]
The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | 9–2 | Bolivia | 6–0 | 3–2 |
Qualified teams[]
The following 16 teams qualified for the 1978 FIFA World Cup:
Team | Finals Appearance | Streak | Last Appearance |
---|---|---|---|
Argentina (h) | 7th | 2 | 1974 |
Austria | 4th | 1 | 1958 |
Brazil | 11th | 11 | 1974 |
France | 7th | 1 | 1966 |
Hungary | 7th | 1 | 1966 |
Iran | 1st | 1 | – |
Italy | 9th | 5 | 1974 |
Mexico | 8th | 1 | 1970 |
Netherlands | 4th | 2 | 1974 |
Peru | 3rd | 1 | 1970 |
Poland | 3rd | 2 | 1974 |
Scotland | 4th | 2 | 1974 |
Spain | 5th | 1 | 1966 |
Sweden | 7th | 3 | 1974 |
Tunisia | 1st | 1 | – |
West Germany (c) | 9th | 7 | 1974 |
(h) - qualified automatically as hosts
(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions
5 of the 16 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 1982 finals: Iran, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia.
Top goalscorers[]
- 9 goals
- 7 goals
- Hans Krankl
- Luis Ramírez Zapata
- Emmanuel Sanon
- Keith Nelson
- 6 goals
- John Kosmina
- Peter Ollerton
- Mahmoud El Khatib
- Óscar Enrique Sánchez
- Faisal Al-Dakhil
- Víctor Rangel
Notes[]
- For the first time, over 100 teams entered qualification for the World Cup.
- Statistically, this was the most difficult World Cup to qualify for. Taking the two automatic places into account, and excluding twelve teams who withdrew before playing, 95 teams competed for the remaining 14 places (14.7%). The number of spots was increased to 24 for the next World Cup.
- Tunisia's victory over Morocco on penalties was the first penalty shootout in World Cup qualification matches.
External links[]
- 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
- 1978 FIFA World Cup
- FIFA World Cup qualification