Editing 1978 FIFA World Cup (section)

{{Short description|Association football tournament in Argentina}}
{{redirect|1978 World Cup|the golf competition|1978 World Cup (men's golf)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox international football competition
| tourney_name = FIFA World Cup
| year = 1978
| other_titles = {{native name|es|Copa Mundial de Fútbol<br/>Argentina '78}}
| image = Logo Mundial 78.svg
| size = 200px
| country = Argentina
| dates = 1–25 June
| confederations = 5
| num_teams = 16
| venues = 6
| cities = 5
| champion = Argentina
| champion-flagvar=1861
| count = 1
| second = Netherlands
| third = Brazil
| third-flagvar = 1968
| fourth = Italy
| fourth-flagvar = 1946
| matches = 38
| goals = 102
| attendance = 1545791
| top_scorer = {{flagicon|ARG|1861}} [[Mario Kempes]] (6 goals)
| player     = {{flagicon|ARG|1861}} Mario Kempes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/09/13/fwc_spain_1982_en_part3_285.pdf|title=1982 FIFA World Cup Technical Report|publisher=FIFA Technical Group|year=1982|ref=82tech|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106062858/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/09/13/fwc%5fspain%5f1982%5fen%5fpart3%5f285.pdf|archive-date=2010-01-06}}</ref>
| young_player = {{flagicon|ITA|1946}} [[Antonio Cabrini]]<ref name="awards">{{cite web |title=1978 FIFA World Cup Argentina – Awards |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/argentina1978/awards/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307173827/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/argentina1978/awards/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 March 2015 |website=FIFA.com |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |access-date=3 February 2019 }}</ref>
| fair_play = {{fb|ARG|1861}}<ref name="awards"/>
| prevseason = [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]]
| nextseason = [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]]
}}

The '''1978 FIFA World Cup''' was the 11th edition of the [[FIFA World Cup]], a [[Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names|quadrennial]] international [[Association football|football]] world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.

The Cup was won by the host nation, [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], who defeated the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] 3–1 in the final, after [[extra time]]. The final was held at [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]]'s home stadium, [[Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti|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 national football team|Uruguay]], [[Italy national football team|Italy]], [[England national football team|England]], and [[Germany national football team|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, [[Germany national football team|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 FIFA World Cup|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, [[1982 FIFA 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, which were [[Sportswashing|using this tournament as an opportunity]] for nationalistic propaganda, and for the relatively new military junta to seek legitimacy on the world stage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/in-bed-with-maradona/2017/jul/05/1978-world-cup-argentina-political-protest-goalposts |title=The political message hidden on the goalposts at the 1978 World Cup |work=The Guardian |last=Forrest |first=David |date=5 July 2017 |access-date=30 June 2021 }}</ref> During the months before the start of the World Cup, the junta was intending to dismantle those who were against them and mitigate criticism from the public on their policies.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=B.L. |date=March 2002 |title=The Argentinian Junta and the Press in the Run-up to the 1978 World Cup |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/714004869 |journal=Soccer & Society |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=69–78 |doi=10.1080/714004869 |issn=1466-0970|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The official match ball was the [[Adidas Tango]].