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FIFA World Cup History – FIFA World Cup 1978

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FIFA World Cup History – FIFA World Cup 1978
 
FIFA World Cup 1978 was held in Argentina between 1st June and 25th June. Mexico made new stadiums because they were hosting the Summer Olympics in 1968, therefore, Argentina could not host the 1970 World Cup. This World Cup, however, marked the first appearance of Coca-Cola as sponsors in the FIFA World Cup. During the qualifications, the European giants England failed to qualify for this FIFA World Cup and therefore, they were not a part of it. The teams that managed to qualify were; Italy, Argentina, France, Hungary, Poland, West Germany, Tunisia, Mexico, Austria, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Peru, Netherlands, Scotland and Iran.

The first group had the very strong Italian side along with the hosts Argentina, the European giants France and the underdogs Hungary. Italy topped the group by defeating all the three teams, even Argentina; while the Argentineans won all their matches except the match against the Italians. France and Hungary stood no chance against the Argentineans and Italians as they advanced to the next round.

In group 2, Poland shocked the world by topping the group. In the first match against the favourites of the group, West Germany, Poland ended the match in a goalless draw while they won the other two matches against Mexico and Tunisia. West Germans won their match against Mexico with a 6 goal lead while they drew against Tunisia to stand the runner-ups of the group.

In group 3, Austria and Brazil were at the same level as they both scored 4 points apiece and Austria topped the group because they scored more goals. Spain and Sweden, being the tough sides, could not manage to qualify after they both suffered a loss each. Therefore, Austria and Brazil qualified for the next round.

In the last group, Peru, Netherlands, Scotland and Iran battled each other out for a spot in the second round of the FIFA World Cup. Peru won the first match against Scotland and made a steady start along with Netherlands who won against the new qualifying team Iran. Peru then drew the match with Netherlands and confirmed its qualification of the next round. Netherlands, on the other hand, lost the last match against Scotland and still managed to qualify on the amount of goals conceded. So, Peru topped the group as Netherlands followed them into the next round.

In the next round, two groups were made between 8 teams; with four teams per group. The 2 teams that would top the group would qualify for the semi finals. In the first group it was Netherlands, Italy, West Germany and Austria; and these four teams had to go head to head for the top two spots in the group. Netherlands made an impressive start by defeating the Austrians by 5-1. The match between West Germany and Italy ended in a goalless draw while Netherlands drew with West Germany to end the German’s dreams of coming into the next round. Italy won their next match against Austria and lost the match against Netherlands; but, Austria won from West Germany and they both got knocked out with Netherlands topping the group and Italy ending up as runner ups.

In the second group; Argentina, Brazil, Poland and Peru had to go head to head for a spot in the semi finals. Argentina and Brazil topped the group, which was obvious for everyone who was watching the World Cup back then. Brazil and Argentina, both, dominated the group by drawing the match against each other and winning the rest. Argentina topped the group because of the goal difference and Brazilians ended as runner ups. The top two teams of the groups were supposed to be the finalists and the other two had to face each other for a 3rd and 4th position match.

During the 3rd and 4th position match, Brazilians defeated the Italians to end up as third for this World Cup. The Italians took first blood by scoring the first goal in the first half when Causio struck a beautiful shot to lead his team. In the second half, Brazil came back from behind and Nelinho scored the first goal for his country in the 64th minute. In the 71st minute Dirceu won it for his team by scoring the second and the winning goal for his team.

In the final match, the hosts Argentina had to face Netherlands for their first title. The hosts took the first shot on goal and Kempes scored his first goal of the match in the first half during the 37th minute. During the second half, the Netherlands attacking midfielder took a fabulous shot during the last stages of the match and scored a goal in the 82nd minute to put the match on level terms. The referee blew his whistle and the match went into extra time. Just before the first half of the extra time was about to finish, Kempes came back for his team to score his second goal of the match to lead his team to victory; however, Argentineans were not through yet and scored a goal in the 115th minute to end the game 3-1. This was the first time that the Argentineans won a World Cup and it was on their home soil.

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