1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
| Copa Mundial de Fútbol Argentina '78 (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Argentina |
| Dates | 1–25 June |
| Teams | 16 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Argentina (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Netherlands |
| Third place | Brazil |
| Fourth place | Italy |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 38 |
| Goals scored | 102 (2.68 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,545,791 (40,679 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Mario Kempes (6 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Mario Kempes |
| Best young player | Antonio Cabrini |
| Fair play award | Argentina |
The Cup was won by the host nation, Argentina, who defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in the final, after extra time. The final was held at River Plate's home stadium, Estadio Monumental, in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth team (after Uruguay, Italy, England, and West Germany) to be both hosts and world champions and the third South American team to win a World Cup. Argentina, the Netherlands, and Brazil were the gold, silver, and bronze medalists, respectively. Iran and Tunisia made their first appearances in the tournament. The defending champions, West Germany were eliminated in the second round (finishing third in their group). This was also the last World Cup tournament to use the original inclusion of 16 teams. Since the first World Cup in 1930, only 15 teams (plus the host, who automatically qualified) had been allowed to qualify (the reigning title holders also received automatic qualification from 1934 through 2002); but for the next World Cup, in Spain, FIFA expanded that tournament to 24 teams.
This tournament was marred by flagrant controversy, domestic politics, and alleged interference and match-fixing by the Argentine authoritarian military junta government, who were using this tournament as an opportunity for nationalistic propaganda, and for the relatively new military junta to seek legitimacy on the world stage. One player, Ralf Edström, was arrested for speaking to a person in Buenos Aires; however, the Argentine military released him upon recognising its error (that he was a Swedish footballer, not an ordinary person).
The official match ball was the Adidas Tango.