1978 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship

1978 FIVB World Championship

Tournament details
Host nation	Italy
Dates	20 September – 1 October
Teams	24
Venue(s)	6 (in 6 host cities)
Officially opened by	Sandro Pertini
Champions	Soviet Union (5th title)
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The 1978 FIVB Men's World Championship was the ninth edition of the tournament, organised by the world's governing body, the FIVB. It was held from 20 September 1 to October 1978 in Italy.

Teams[]

Results[]

First round[]

	Advanced to second round 1st–12th pools
	Advanced to second round 13th–24th pools

Pool A[]

Location: Rome

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Italy	6	3	0	9	1	9.000	141	84	1.679
2	China	5	2	1	7	4	1.750	145	116	1.250
3	Belgium	4	1	2	4	8	0.500	131	156	0.840
4	Egypt	3	0	3	2	9	0.222	98	159	0.616

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
20 Sep	15:00	Italy	3–0	Belgium	15–6	15–5	15–11			45–22
20 Sep	17:30	China	3–0	Egypt	15–13	15–6	15–6			45–25
21 Sep		China	3–1	Belgium	15–10	15–6	11–15	15–9		56–40
21 Sep		Italy	3–0	Egypt	15–5	15–4	15–9			45–18
22 Sep	17:30	Belgium	3–2	Egypt	17–15	15–1	10–15	12–15	15–9	69–55
22 Sep	21:00	Italy	3–1	China	15–8	6–15	15–11	15–10		51–44

Pool B[]

Location: Bergamo

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Poland	6	3	0	9	1	9.000	148	75	1.973
2	Mexico	5	2	1	6	6	1.000	135	144	0.938
3	Venezuela	4	1	2	4	8	0.500	119	166	0.717
4	Finland	3	0	3	5	9	0.556	163	180	0.906

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
20 Sep	17:30	Mexico	3–1	Venezuela	15–13	15–6	13–15	15–3		58–37
20 Sep	21:00	Poland	3–1	Finland	15–8	15–6	13–15	15–9		58–38
21 Sep		Poland	3–0	Venezuela	15–4	15–7	15–12			45–23
21 Sep		Mexico	3–2	Finland	9–15	15–13	15–9	9–15	15–10	63–62
22 Sep	17:30	Venezuela	3–2	Finland	15–11	7–15	7–15	15–13	15–9	59–63
22 Sep	21:00	Poland	3–0	Mexico	15–3	15–7	15–4			45–14

Pool C[]

Location: Udine

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Soviet Union	6	3	0	9	1	9.000	148	71	2.085
2	Brazil	5	2	1	7	4	1.750	151	125	1.208
3	France	4	1	2	4	6	0.667	106	121	0.876
4	Tunisia	3	0	3	0	9	0.000	47	135	0.348

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
20 Sep	17:30	Brazil	3–0	Tunisia	15–10	15–2	15–8			45–20
20 Sep	21:00	Soviet Union	3–0	France	15–6	15–6	15–2			45–14
21 Sep		France	3–0	Tunisia	15–7	15–4	15–6			45–17
21 Sep		Soviet Union	3–1	Brazil	11–15	17–15	15–8	15–9		58–47
22 Sep	17:30	Soviet Union	3–0	Tunisia	15–1	15–2	15–7			45–10
22 Sep	21:00	Brazil	3–1	France	15–11	15–13	14–16	15–7		59–47

Pool D[]

Location: Venice

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Cuba	6	3	0	9	1	9.000	147	83	1.771
2	Japan	5	2	1	7	4	1.750	150	110	1.364
3	Hungary	4	1	2	4	6	0.667	97	124	0.782
4	Argentina	3	0	3	0	9	0.000	58	135	0.430

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
20 Sep	17:30	Cuba	3–0	Argentina	15–1	15–10	15–8			45–19
20 Sep	21:00	Japan	3–1	Hungary	15–6	15–9	12–15	15–6		57–36
21 Sep	15:00	Cuba	3–1	Japan	11–15	16–14	15–7	15–12		57–48
21 Sep		Hungary	3–0	Argentina	15–6	15–6	15–10			45–22
22 Sep	17:30	Japan	3–0	Argentina	15–3	15–3	15–11			45–17
22 Sep	21:00	Cuba	3–0	Hungary	15–1	15–9	15–6			45–16

Pool E[]

Location: Parma

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Bulgaria	6	3	0	9	1	9.000	146	78	1.872
2	East Germany	5	2	1	6	3	2.000	108	93	1.161
3	Netherlands	4	1	2	3	8	0.375	111	145	0.766
4	Canada	3	0	3	3	9	0.333	119	168	0.708

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
20 Sep	17:30	Bulgaria	3–1	Canada	11–15	15–10	15–5	15–10		56–40
20 Sep	21:00	East Germany	3–0	Netherlands	15–11	15–6	15–7			45–24
21 Sep		East Germany	3–0	Canada	15–4	15–11	15–9			45–24
21 Sep		Bulgaria	3–0	Netherlands	15–5	15–7	15–8			45–20
22 Sep	17:30	Netherlands	3–2	Canada	9–15	13–15	15–13	15–4	15–8	67–55
22 Sep	21:00	Bulgaria	3–0	East Germany	15–8	15–4	15–6			45–18

Pool F[]

Location: Ancona

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	South Korea	6	3	0	9	3	3.000	170	126	1.349
2	Czechoslovakia	5	2	1	8	5	1.600	166	149	1.114
3	Romania	4	1	2	6	6	1.000	152	166	0.916
4	United States	3	0	3	0	9	0.000	93	140	0.664

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
20 Sep	17:30	Romania	3–0	United States	17–15	15–8	18–16			50–39
20 Sep	21:00	South Korea	3–2	Czechoslovakia	15–7	8–15	15–12	12–15	15–5	65–54
21 Sep		Czechoslovakia	3–0	United States	15–5	15–10	15–12			45–27
21 Sep		South Korea	3–1	Romania	14–16	16–14	15–3	15–12		60–45
22 Sep	15:00	South Korea	3–0	United States	15–8	15–11	15–8			45–27
22 Sep	21:00	Czechoslovakia	3–2	Romania	15–11	15–12	14–16	8–15	15–3	67–57

Second round[]

The results and the points of the matches between the same teams that were already played during the first round are taken into account for the second round.

	Advanced to final round finals
	Advanced to final round 5th–8th places
	Advanced to final round 9th–12th places
	Advanced to final round 13th–16th places
	Advanced to final round 17th–20th places
	Advanced to final round 21st–23rd places

1st–12th pools[]

Pool G[]

Location: Rome

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Soviet Union	10	5	0	15	3	5.000	254	160	1.588
2	Italy	9	4	1	12	7	1.714	249	224	1.112
3	China	7	2	3	10	10	1.000	244	244	1.000
4	Brazil	7	2	3	10	11	0.909	277	261	1.061
5	Bulgaria	7	2	3	7	11	0.636	195	221	0.882
6	East Germany	5	0	5	3	15	0.200	150	259	0.579

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
24 Sep	11:00	Bulgaria	3–2	China	8–15	15–10	15–8	14–16	15–10	67–59
24 Sep	14:30	Soviet Union	3–0	East Germany	15–3	15–7	15–11			45–21
24 Sep	19:00	Italy	3–2	Brazil	14–16	15–12	10–15	15–10	17–15	71–68
25 Sep	09:00	Soviet Union	3–1	Bulgaria	15–7	15–6	7–15	15–8		52–36
25 Sep	11:00	China	3–1	Brazil	15–10	15–13	15–17	15–13		60–53
25 Sep	19:00	Italy	3–1	East Germany	15–8	15–7	15–17	15–5		60–37
26 Sep	09:00	Soviet Union	3–1	China	15–8	15–7	9–15	15–6		54–36
26 Sep	11:00	Brazil	3–2	East Germany	11–15	15–10	15–11	8–15	15–4	64–55
26 Sep	19:00	Italy	3–0	Bulgaria	15–9	15–6	17–15			47–30
27 Sep	11:00	China	3–0	East Germany	15–5	15–3	15–11			45–19
27 Sep	14:30	Brazil	3–0	Bulgaria	15–3	15–7	15–7			45–17
27 Sep	16:30	Soviet Union	3–0	Italy	15–11	15–6	15–3			45–20

Pool H[]

Location: Rome

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Cuba	10	5	0	15	5	3.000	283	213	1.329
2	South Korea	8	3	2	12	9	1.333	266	249	1.068
3	Poland	8	3	2	10	9	1.111	229	221	1.036
4	Czechoslovakia	7	2	3	11	9	1.222	241	227	1.062
5	Japan	7	2	3	9	10	0.900	240	222	1.081
6	Mexico	5	0	5	0	15	0.000	98	225	0.436

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
24 Sep	09:00	South Korea	3–0	Mexico	15–8	15–7	15–7			45–22
24 Sep	16:30	Cuba	3–2	Czechoslovakia	15–8	7–15	15–3	13–15	15–10	65–51
24 Sep	21:00	Poland	3–2	Japan	13–15	15–12	5–15	15–10	15–9	63–61
25 Sep	14:30	Poland	3–1	Czechoslovakia	15–9	3–15	15–10	15–10		48–44
25 Sep	16:30	Japan	3–0	Mexico	15–6	15–3	15–12			45–21
25 Sep	21:00	Cuba	3–2	South Korea	17–15	12–15	15–13	12–15	15–7	71–65
26 Sep	14:30	Czechoslovakia	3–0	Japan	15–9	15–6	17–15			47–30
26 Sep	16:30	Cuba	3–0	Mexico	15–9	15–2	15–11			45–22
26 Sep	21:00	South Korea	3–1	Poland	15–7	11–15	16–14	15–10		57–46
27 Sep	09:00	Czechoslovakia	3–0	Mexico	15–4	15–13	15–2			45–19
27 Sep	19:00	Cuba	3–0	Poland	15–8	15–10	15–9			45–27
27 Sep	21:00	Japan	3–1	South Korea	15–4	15–9	11–15	15–6		56–34

13th–24th pools[]

Pool I[]

Location: Venice

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	France	10	5	0	15	2	7.500	248	128	1.938
2	Netherlands	9	4	1	14	5	2.800	266	201	1.323
3	Canada	8	3	2	11	8	1.375	236	232	1.017
4	Belgium	7	2	3	6	11	0.545	173	217	0.797
5	Egypt	6	1	4	7	12	0.583	219	266	0.823
6	Tunisia	5	0	5	0	15	0.000	129	227	0.568

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
24 Sep	09:00	Belgium	3–0	Tunisia	16–14	15–3	15–10			46–27
24 Sep	11:00	Netherlands	3–0	Egypt	15–11	17–15	16–14			48–40
24 Sep	14:30	France	3–0	Canada	15–9	15–6	5–6			45–21
25 Sep	09:00	Netherlands	3–0	Tunisia	15–2	15–10	15–12			45–24
25 Sep	11:00	Canada	3–2	Egypt	12–15	15–11	15–11	12–15	15–13	69–65
25 Sep	14:30	France	3–0	Belgium	15–5	15–8	15–2			45–15
26 Sep	09:00	France	3–0	Egypt	15–5	15–5	15–4			45–14
26 Sep	11:00	Canada	3–0	Tunisia	16–14	15–4	15–8			46–26
26 Sep	14:30	Netherlands	3–0	Belgium	15–2	15–4	15–8			45–14
27 Sep	09:00	Egypt	3–0	Tunisia	15–13	15–12	15–10			45–35
27 Sep	11:00	France	3–2	Netherlands	15–9	13–15	10–15	15–11	15–11	68–61
27 Sep	14:30	Canada	3–0	Belgium	15–6	15–10	11–13			45–29

Pool J[]

Location: Venice

		Pts	Matches		Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Hungary	9	4	1	13	5	2.600	243	183	1.328
2	Romania	9	4	1	13	7	1.857	272	218	1.248
3	United States	8	3	2	11	7	1.571	251	205	1.224
4	Finland	7	2	3	9	12	0.750	241	264	0.913
5	Venezuela	7	2	3	8	12	0.667	208	264	0.788
6	Argentina	5	0	5	4	15	0.267	176	257	0.685

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
24 Sep	16:30	Hungary	3–0	Venezuela	15–10	15–6	15–2			45–18
24 Sep	19:00	Finland	3–2	United States	13–15	9–15	18–16	15–12	15–7	70–65
24 Sep	21:00	Romania	3–2	Argentina	15–7	11–15	15–8	11–15	15–8	67–53
25 Sep	16:30	Hungary	3–1	Finland	12–15	15–10	15–10	15–6		57–41
25 Sep	19:00	United States	3–0	Argentina	15–8	15–3	15–6			45–17
25 Sep	21:00	Romania	3–2	Venezuela	15–12	13–15	15–7	7–15	15–5	65–54
26 Sep	16:30	United States	3–1	Hungary	15–9	16–14	11–15	15–6		57–44
26 Sep	19:00	Romania	3–0	Finland	15–10	15–7	15–3			45–20
26 Sep	21:00	Venezuela	3–1	Argentina	15–6	15–12	8–15	15–13		53–46
27 Sep	16:30	United States	3–0	Venezuela	15–11	15–1	15–12			45–24
27 Sep	19:00	Hungary	3–1	Romania	15–8	7–15	15–10	15–12		52–45
27 Sep	21:00	Finland	3–1	Argentina	2–15	15–8	15–13	15–2		47–38

Final round[]

21st–24th places[]

	21st–24th semifinals				21st place
	30 September
	Venezuela	3
					1 October
	Tunisia	0
					Venezuela	3
	30 September
					Argentina	0
	Argentina	3
	Egypt	1
					23rd place
					1 October
					Tunisia	0
					Egypt	3

21st–24th semifinals[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
30 Sep	Venezuela	3–0	Tunisia	15–12	15–8	15–8			45–28
30 Sep	Argentina	3–1	Egypt	15–8	10–15	15–8	15–10		55–41

23rd place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Tunisia	0–3	Egypt	4–15	5–15	10–15			19–45

21st place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Venezuela	3–0	Argentina	15–7	15–10	15–7			45–24

17th–20th places[]

	17th–20th semifinals				17th place
	30 September
	Belgium	3
					1 October
	United States	1
					Belgium	0
	30 September
					Finland	3
	Finland	3
	Canada	0
					19th place
					1 October
					United States	3
					Canada	0

17th–20th semifinals[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
30 Sep	Belgium	3–1	United States	15–12	15–10	12–15	15–10		57–47
30 Sep	Finland	3–0	Canada	15–10	15–4	15–10			45–24

19th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	United States	3–0	Canada	15–4	15–9	15–8			45–21

17th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Belgium	0–3	Finland	13–15	8–15	13–15			34–45

13th–16th places[]

	13th–16th semifinals				13th place
	30 September – Venice
	Romania	3
					1 October – Venice
	France	1
					Romania	3
	30 September – Venice
					Hungary	1
	Hungary	3
	Netherlands	1
					15th place
					1 October – Venice
					France	3
					Netherlands	1

13th–16th semifinals[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
30 Sep	Romania	3–1	France	11–15	15–12	15–2	15–5		56–34
30 Sep	Hungary	3–1	Netherlands	15–9	13–15	15–7	15–5		58–36

15th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	France	3–1	Netherlands	15–4	15–7	11–15	15–7		56–33

13th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Romania	3–1	Hungary	10–15	15–12	15–4	15–7		55–38

9th–12th places[]

	9th–12th semifinals				9th place
	30 September
	Bulgaria	3
					1 October
	Mexico	2
					Bulgaria	1
	30 September
					East Germany	3
	Japan	1
	East Germany	3
					11th place
					1 October
					Mexico	1
					Japan	3

9th–12th semifinals[]

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
30 Sep	09:00	Bulgaria	3–2	Mexico	12–15	15–8	13–15	15–12	15–12	70–62
30 Sep	14:30	Japan	1–3	East Germany	8–15	15–7	11–15	7–15		41–52

11th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Mexico	1–3	Japan	15–12	7–15	3–15	5–15		30–57

9th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Bulgaria	1–3	East Germany	15–6	9–15	10–15	10–15		44–51

5th–8th places[]

	5th–8th semifinals				5th place
	30 September
	China	1
					1 October
	Czechoslovakia	3
					Czechoslovakia	3
	30 September
					Brazil	2
	Poland	0
	Brazil	3
					7th place
					1 October
					China	3
					Poland	2

5th–8th semifinals[]

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
30 Sep	11:00	China	1–3	Czechoslovakia	16–14	7–15	5–15	12–15		40–59
30 Sep	16:00	Poland	0–3	Brazil	11–15	12–15	7–15			30–45

7th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	China	3–2	Poland	12–15	15–13	11–15	15–13	15–13	68–69

5th place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Czechoslovakia	3–2	Brazil	5–15	16–14	4–15	15–11	15–6	55–66

Finals[]

	Semifinals				Final
	30 September – Rome
	Cuba	1
					1 October – Rome
	Italy	3
					Italy	0
	30 September – Rome
					Soviet Union	3
	Soviet Union	3
	South Korea	0
					3rd place
					1 October – Rome
					Cuba	3
					South Korea	1

Semifinals[]

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
30 Sep	19:00	Cuba	1–3	Italy	17–15	11–15	14–16	12–15		54–61
30 Sep	21:00	Soviet Union	3–0	South Korea	15–3	15–3	15–9			45–15

3rd place match[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Cuba	3–1	South Korea	17–15	15–9	13–15	15–5		60–44

Final[]

Date		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total
1 Oct	Italy	0–3	Soviet Union	10–15	13–15	1–15			24–45

Final standing[]

External links[]

• Federation Internationale de Volleyball