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International · World Cup

World Cup 1978

ChampionsArgentina

Argentina won, ahead of Netherlands (3–1 aet in the final, 25 Jun 1978). 16 teams, 38 games, 2.68 goals a game; hosted by Argentina.

Group stage

Group 1

TeamPWDLGDPts
Italythrough3300+46
Argentinathrough3201+14
France310202
Hungary3003-50

Group 2

TeamPWDLGDPts
Polandthrough3210+35
Germanythrough3120+64
Tunisia3111+13
Mexico3003-100

Group 3

TeamPWDLGDPts
Austriathrough3201+14
Brazilthrough3120+14
Spain311103
Sweden3012-21

Group 4

TeamPWDLGDPts
Peruthrough3210+55
Netherlandsthrough3111+23
Scotland3111-13
Iran3012-61

2 points for a win. Ordered by points, goal difference, then goals scored; the official tie-breakers vary by tournament, so “through” is taken from who played in the next round.

Second group stage

Group A

TeamPWDLGDPts
Netherlandsthrough3210+55
Italythrough311103
Germany3021-12
Austria3102-42

Group B

TeamPWDLGDPts
Argentinathrough3210+85
Brazilthrough3210+55
Poland3102-32
Peru3003-100

2 points for a win. Ordered by points, goal difference, then goals scored; the official tie-breakers vary by tournament, so “through” is taken from who played in the next round.

Third-place play-off

Final

Top scorers

  1. Mario Kempes Argentina 6
  2. Rob Rensenbrink Netherlands 5
  3. Teófilo Cubillas Peru 5
  4. Leopoldo Luque Argentina 4
  5. Hans Krankl Austria 4
  6. Paolo Rossi Italy 3
  7. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Germany 3
  8. Roberto Dinamite Brazil 3
  9. Johnny Rep Netherlands 3
  10. Dirceu Brazil 3

Upsets

Winners whose Elo expectation before the game was under 30%.

Results: martj42/international_results (CC0), men’s full internationals since 1872. Rounds and groups: openfootball (CC0). Fixtures: fixturedownload.com.