1978 FIFA World Cup

Lore & Background

Host selection: Argentina was chosen as the host nation by FIFA on 6 July 1966 in London, England, when the hosts for 1974, 1978 and 1982 editions were chosen. Mexico withdrew from the bidding process after having been awarded the 1970 event two years earlier. The logo is based on President Juan Perón's signature gesture: a salute to the crowd with both arms extended above his head. This was one of the most famous, populist images of Perón.

The design was created in 1974, two years prior to the military coup in 1976. The military leadership were aware that the World Cup's logo symbolised Perón's gesture, and they tried to change the competition's logo. At this point, the design was already broadly commercialised and the merchandise had already been made: a forced modification 'would trigger a sea of lawsuits against the country', so the military had no option but to give up their attempts and leave it.

The monetary cost of preparing to host the World Cup was put at $700 million, including building three new stadia and redeveloping three others; building five press centres; a new communications system costing $100 million; and improvements to transport systems. Qualification: Newcomers to the finals were Iran and Tunisia; Austria qualified for the first time since 1958, while France, Spain and Hungary were back for the first time since 1966. Peru and Mexico returned after missing the 1974 tournament.

For the first time, more than 100 nations entered the competition. Format: The format of the competition stayed the same as in 1974: Sixteen (16) teams qualified, divided into four groups of four. Each group played a round-robin with two points for a win and one for a draw, and goal difference used to separate teams level on points. The top two teams in each group advanced to the second round, where they were split into two groups of four. The winners of each group played each other in the final, and the second-place finishers in the match for third place.

Reader's Guide

First round: Poland won Group 2 ahead of world champions West Germany, after holding the Germans to a goalless draw and then beating Tunisia and Mexico. The Germans then beat Mexico 6–0, and finally played out a second goalless draw against Tunisia. Although they failed to qualify for the second round, Tunisia made history by beating Mexico 3–1 while trailing 0–1 at half time. It was the first time that any African team had won a match at the World Cup finals.

Peru pushed the Netherlands into second place in Group 4, where Scotland missed out on goal difference for the second successive tournament. Teófilo Cubillas was outstanding for Peru, scoring twice against Scotland in Peru's 3–1 win and hitting a hat-trick in their 4–1 victory over newcomers Iran. Rob Rensenbrink of the Netherlands also scored three times against Iran, scoring all the goals as the Dutch won 3–0. Scotland drew with Iran 1–1 and the only highlight of their campaign was a 3–2 victory over the Netherlands in their final group game which was not enough to prevent elimination.

Iran, the reigning Asian champions, went out of the tournament winless. Rensenbrink's goal against Scotland was the 1000th goal of World Cup history. Scotland's Willie Johnston was expelled from the World Cup after he was found to have taken a banned stimulant during the opening game against Peru. The biggest surprise of all came in Group 3, where Austria finished ahead of Brazil.

The Austrians beat Spain and Sweden, while Brazil were held to draws by the same two teams. The draw between Brazil and Sweden was especially controversial; Welsh referee Clive Thomas awarded Brazil a very late corner kick, and Zico directly headed the kick into the net; but Thomas blew for time before Zico made contact with the ball, and the goal was disallowed. The Brazilian players were not happy with the decision, but the final result remained a 1–1 draw.

Heading into their final group game, Brazil needed to beat Austria to be certain of advancing to the second round and managed a 1–0 win thanks to a goal from Roberto Dinamite. Brazil and Austria thus finished with the same number of points and the same goal difference, but Austria won the group by virtue of having scored more goals. Group 1 had the strongest line-up of teams in the first round, featuring Italy, the host Argentina, France and Hungary.

Did You Know?

• The 1978 World Cup logo was based on President Juan Perón's salute gesture, not a player silhouette.
• The 1978 World Cup used a second group stage, so it was not the last to use the original 16-team format.