Background
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the World Cup, held in Argentina from June 1 to June 25, 1978. It was the first time that the tournament was held in South America since the 1962 World Cup in Chile.
Participants
A total of 16 teams participated in the tournament. These teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. The participating teams were:
Group A: Argentina, France, Hungary, Italy
Group B: Brazil, Iran, Scotland, Netherlands
Group C: Austria, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia
Group D: Germany, Mexico, Poland, Tunisia
Format
The tournament was divided into two stages: the group stage and the knockout stage. In the group stage, each team played against the other teams in their group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage, which consisted of quarter-finals, semi-finals, a third-place playoff, and the final.
Matches
A total of 38 matches were played in the tournament. The matches were held in six different stadiums across Argentina.
Goalscorers
The Golden Boot for the top goalscorer of the tournament was awarded to Mario Kempes of Argentina, who scored 6 goals. Other notable goalscorers were Teófilo Cubillas of Peru and Rob Rensenbrink of the Netherlands, who both scored 5 goals.
Winner
The host nation Argentina emerged as the winners of the tournament, defeating the Netherlands 3-1 in the final. This was Argentina’s first World Cup victory.
Legacy
The 1978 World Cup is remembered as one of the most controversial editions of the tournament due to the political situation in Argentina at the time. The tournament was held during the military dictatorship led by Jorge Rafael Videla, which was responsible for human rights violations and political repression. There were allegations of torture and murder of political prisoners by the regime during the tournament.
Controversy
There were also controversies surrounding the tournament itself, including allegations of biased refereeing in favor of Argentina in their matches against Peru and Brazil. The final match between Argentina and the Netherlands was also controversial, with some alleging that the Argentinian team received favorable treatment from the referee.
Despite the controversies, the 1978 World Cup is remembered as a memorable tournament for the performances of individual players such as Mario Kempes and Teófilo Cubillas, and for Argentina’s victory on home soil.
