Listed below are the dates and results for the qualification to the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international 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 ...

rounds for the European zone (

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

) in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article '' 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification''. A total of 32 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 9.5 places (out of 16) in the final tournament.

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 8.5 spots open for competition between 31 teams. The 31 teams were divided into 9 groups of 3 or 4 teams each (five groups with 3 teams and four groups with 4 teams). The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winners of groups 1 to 8 would qualify, the winner of group 9 would advance to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

Summary

Below is a table containing all nine qualifying groups. Teams that qualified and secured a place in the final tournament are highlighted in green, while teams who were eliminated are highlighted in red. The team that secured a place in the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off is highlighted in blue. Teams are ordered by final group position. Key: *Teams highlighted in green qualified for the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. *Teams highlighted in blue advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

Groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Group 7

Group 8

Group 9

Hungary advanced to the UEFA–CONMEBOL play-off.

Inter-confederation play-offs

Goalscorers

;9 goals *

Roberto Bettega Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his hometown club Juventus, where he won several titles ...

;7 goals *

Hans Krankl Johann "Hans" Krankl (; born 14 February 1953) is a retired Austrian footballer. A prolific striker, Krankl is regarded by many as one of Austria's greatest players. Club career Krankl started his professional career at Rapid Wien and stayed ...

;5 goals * Martin Hoffmann * Cemil Turan ;4 goals *

Joachim Streich Joachim Streich (13 April 1951 – 16 April 2022) was a German footballer who won the bronze medal with East Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Playing career Born in Wismar, Streich played as a striker for Aufbau Wismar from 1957 t ...

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 a ...

* Kazimierz Deyna *

Grzegorz Lato Grzegorz Bolesław Lato (Polish pronunciation: ; born 8 April 1950) is a Polish former professional football player and manager who played as a winger. He was a member of Poland's golden generation of football players who rose to fame in the ...

* Manuel Fernandes *

Thomas Sjöberg Thomas Sjöberg (born 6 July 1952) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. A full international between 1974 and 1981, he won 45 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the 1978 FIFA Worl ...

;3 goals *

Mick Channon Michael Roger Channon (born 28 November 1948) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward, most notably for Southampton, and went on to represent the England national team in the 1970s. Scoring over 250 goals in his c ...

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, a ...

* Tibor Nyilasi * Francesco Graziani * Ruud Geels * Chris McGrath *

Safet Sušić Safet "Pape" Sušić (; born 13 April 1955) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of TFF First League club Akhisarspor. He was a gifted midfielder known for his dribbling skills and technic ...

;2 goals * Josef Stering *

Raoul Lambert Raoul Lambert (born 20 October 1944) is a Belgian retired footballer who played as a striker. He finished top scorer of the Belgian First Division with 17 goals in 1972 while playing for Club Brugge. He also scored 18 goals in 33 matches with t ...

* Pavel Panov * Lars Bastrup * Henning Munk Jensen *

Per Røntved Per Christian Røntved (born 27 January 1949) is a Danish former professional footballer who played for German club Werder Bremen from 1972 to 1979. He also played for Danish clubs Brønshøj BK, Randers Freja, and Hvidovre IF. He was named ...

Allan Simonsen Allan Rodenkam Simonsen (born 15 December 1952) is a Danish former footballer and manager. He most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barc ...

* Hartmut Schade *

Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a le ...

* Aki Heiskanen * Esa Heiskanen * Olavi Rissanen *

Mimis Papaioannou Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou ( el, Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; born 23 August 1942) is a Greek former professional football player, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a former manager. His nickname w ...

Zoltán Kereki Zoltán Kereki (born 13 July 1953) is a Hungarian football defender who played for Hungary in the 1978 FIFA World Cup.

* András Törőcsik *

Giancarlo Antognoni Giancarlo Antognoni (; born 1 April 1954) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A skillful and creative offensive playmaker, regarded as one of the best Italian players of all time in his position, he played mos ...

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a p ...

Johnny Rep John Nicholaas Rep (born 25 November 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He holds the all-time record for FIFA World Cup goals for the Netherlands with 7. Playing career Rep played as a right-footed ...

* Gerry Armstrong * Andrzej Szarmach * Stanisław Terlecki *

Fernando Chalana Fernando Albino de Sousa Chalana (; 10 February 1959 – 10 August 2022) was a Portuguese football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest talents of his era in Portuguese football, the diminutive left winger's main asset wa ...

* Nené *

Dudu Georgescu Dudu Georgescu (born 1 September 1950) is a retired Romanian footballer who played as a forward and a former coach. Club career Dudu Georgescu was born in Bucharest on 1 September 1950. He started his career at Progresul București, making hi ...

* Anghel Iordǎnescu *

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former football player and manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic and 515 for Liverpool, playing as a forward, and earned a record 102 full caps for th ...

David Kipiani David Kipiani ( ka, დავით ყიფიანი; 18 November 1951 – 17 September 2001) was a Georgian football midfielder and manager. Kipiani principally played as a playmaker and is considered one of Georgia's greatest playe ...

* Rubén Cano * Bo Börjesson * Sedat Özden *

Leighton James Leighton James (born 16 February 1953 in Loughor, Swansea, Wales) is a former Wales international footballer. Playing career James started his career as a left winger with Burnley, making his league debut in November 1970 against Nottingham For ...

;1 goal *

Roland Hattenberger Roland Hattenberger (born 7 December 1948) is a former Austrian footballer. Club career Born in Jenbach, Tyrol, Hattenberger started his professional career at lower league outfit Wattens, before moving to Austrian Football Bundesliga side SSW ...

* Wilhelm Kreuz * Hans Pirkner * Herbert Prohaska *

Walter Schachner Walter "Schoko" Schachner (born 1 February 1957) is a football manager and former player, who played as a forward. He made 64 appearances scoring 23 goals for the Austria national team. As he always brought chocolate to the games when he was ...

* Paul Courant * Maurice Martens * Gilbert Van Binst * François Van der Elst * Roger Van Gool * Hristo Bonev * Chavdar Tsvetkov *

Andrey Zhelyazkov Andrey Zhelyazkov ( bg, Андрей Желязков; born 9 July 1952 in Radnevo) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a forward. He spent 12 years of his career playing for Slavia Sofia and is the club's all-time top goalscorer in ...

* Takis Antoniou * Stefanis Michael * Stavros Stylianou * Miroslav Gajdůšek * Zdeněk Nehoda * Antonín Panenka *

Ladislav Petráš Ladislav Petráš (born 1 December 1946) is a former Slovak football player. He played 19 matches for Czechoslovakia national team and scored six goals. Petráš was a participant at the 1970 FIFA World Cup, where he played three matches and s ...

* Allan Hansen *

Jørgen Kristensen Jørgen Kristensen (born 12 December 1946), nicknamed ''Troldmanden'' (the Wizard), is a Danish former football player who played professionally for a number of foreign clubs and won the 1974 UEFA Cup with Dutch club Feyenoord Rotterdam. He ...

* Benny Nielsen *

Kristen Nygaard Kristen Nygaard (27 August 1926 – 10 August 2002) was a Norwegian computer scientist, programming language pioneer, and politician. Internationally, Nygaard is acknowledged as the co-inventor of object-oriented programming and the programming ...

* Ole Rasmussen *

Niels Tune-Hansen Niels Tune-Hansen (born 19 January 1953) is a Danish former professional footballer who played at as a defender. He made 15 appearances for the Denmark national team scoring one goal. Career Tune-Hansen began his career in his hometown club H ...

Peter Kotte Peter Kotte (born 8 December 1954) is a German former footballer. He scored 54 goals in the Oberliga for Stahl Riesa and Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a Ge ...

Wolfram Löwe Wolfram Löwe (born 14 May 1945 in Markranstädt) is a former German footballer. Career Club career Löwe played almost whole his career for 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig (1963–1980). International career On the national level he played for the ...

* Jürgen Sparwasser * Gert Weber *

Trevor Brooking Sir Trevor David Brooking, (born 2 October 1948) is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England. He spent almost his entire career at West ...

Trevor Francis Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player fol ...

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English football player and coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored ...

Stuart Pearson Stuart James Pearson (born 21 June 1949) is an English former footballer. His nickname was "Pancho". He was a skilful forward who played in three FA Cup finals, two for Manchester United and one with West Ham United. Playing career Hull City ...

Joe Royle Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the ...

Dennis Tueart Dennis Tueart (born 27 November 1949) is an English former footballer who played for Sunderland, Manchester City, Stoke City and Burnley at club level. On the international scene, he won six full caps for England. Career Tueart was born in Ne ...

Kai Haaskivi Kai Haaskivi (born 28 December 1955 in Lahti) is a retired Finnish soccer player. He starred in the North American Soccer League, playing outdoor as well as indoor soccer. He also played for the Finland national football team. He now coaches i ...

* Teppo Heikkinen * Ari Mäkynen * Jyrki Nieminen *

Matti Paatelainen Matti Paatelainen (born 17 June 1944) is a Finnish former international footballer who played as a striker. Career Paatelainen earned 47 caps for Finland, scoring eleven goals, between 1970 and 1977. He played club football at Urho, HPS, HIFK ...

Dominique Bathenay Dominique Bathenay (born 13 February 1954) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder and coach. Career Bathenay played for AS Saint-Étienne from 1973 to 1978, and for Paris Saint-Germain F.C., P ...

* Christian Dalger *

Bernard Lacombe Bernard Lacombe (born 15 August 1952) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a striker, mainly with Lyon, Bordeaux and Saint-Étienne and the France national team. Career Lacombe began his professional career with hometown cl ...

Dominique Rocheteau Dominique Claude Rocheteau (born 14 January 1955) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. A French international, he played in three FIFA World Cups, scoring at least one goal in each of them, and was part of the team ...

* László Fazekas * István Halász * László Nagy *

Sándor Pintér Sándor Pintér (born 3 July 1948) is a Hungarian politician and former top police officer. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1998 to 2002 and since 2010, in Viktor Orbán's cabinets. Biography Pintér was born and raised in Budapest. ...

László Pusztai László Pusztai (1 March 1946 – 6 July 1987) was a Hungarian football player who participated in the 1978 World Cup where Hungary was eliminated in the first round. After having spent numerous years in the Budapest clubs of Budapest Honvéd ...

* Béla Várady * Sándor Zombori * Ingi Björn Albertsson *

Ásgeir Sigurvinsson Ásgeir "Sigi" Sigurvinsson (born 8 May 1955 in Vestmannaeyjar) is an Icelandic retired football attacking midfielder and coach. He spent most of his career at Standard Liège and in Germany, amassing Bundesliga totals of 211 games and 39 goal ...

Liam Brady William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for the Ireland ...

Don Givens Daniel Joseph "Don" Givens (born 9 August 1949) is an Irish former footballer and coach. A forward, Givens played club football for Manchester United, Luton Town, Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City, AFC Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Ne ...

* Romeo Benetti * Franco Causio *

Claudio Gentile Claudio Gentile (; born 27 September 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s. Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, and played for the winning Italian team in ...

Renato Zaccarelli Renato Zaccarelli (; born 18 January 1951) is a former Italian professional footballer and manager who played as a midfielder. Club career After Giorgio Ferrini and Paolo Pulici, Zaccarelli is the third player with the most appearances for Tor ...

Nico Braun Nico Braun (born 26 October 1950) is a Luxembourgish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Braun played for foreign clubs almost all of his career, predominantly in France, but also in Germany, before returning to ...

* Gilbert Zender *

Ruud Krol Rudolf ("Ruud" or "Rudi") Jozef Krol (; born 24 March 1949) is a Dutch former professional footballer who was capped 83 times for the Netherlands national team. Most of his career he played for his home town club, Ajax, and he became a coach ...

* Willem Van Hanegem *

René Van de Kerkhof Reinier Lambertus van de Kerkhof (; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. Career Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother Wil ...

Willy Van de Kerkhof Wilhelmus Antonius "Willy" van de Kerkhof (; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother René were squad members of the Dutch national team that made the W ...

Sammy McIlroy Samuel Baxter McIlroy (born 2 August 1954) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played for Manchester United, Stoke City, Manchester City, Örgryte (Sweden), Bury, VfB Mödling (Austria), Preston North End and the Northern Ireland nat ...

Derek Spence Derek William Spence (born 18 January 1952) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer. He played as a forward in a career spanning seventeen years from 1969 to 1986. He played for clubs in Northern Ireland, England, Greece, the Nether ...

* Odd Iversen *

Tom Lund Tom Lund (born 10 September 1950) is a former Norwegian football coach and striker, he is considered by some as Norway's greatest football player of all time. Lund spent his entire career at Norwegian club Lillestrøm, despite receiving numer ...

* Rune Ottesen *

Zbigniew Boniek Zbigniew Boniek (; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former footballer and manager as well as current UEFA vice-president. A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and second striker, he is considered one of t ...

* Bohdan Masztaler * Włodzimierz Mazur *

Rui Jordão Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão (; 9 August 1952 – 18 October 2019) was a Portuguese footballer. His professional career was spent mostly with two of the biggest clubs in the country, Benfica and Sporting CP. One of the most prolific strikers i ...

* Octávio Machado * Seninho * Francisco Vital * László Bölöni *

Iosif Vigu Iosif Vigu (born 15 May 1946) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a left back. He was also a manager. Club career Iosif Vigu was born on 15 May 1946 in Șimian, Bihor, Romania, starting to play football at the junior squads of Cri� ...

Asa Hartford Richard Asa Hartford (born 24 October 1950) is a Scottish former football player and coach. He started his professional career with West Bromwich Albion. His early progress led to a proposed transfer to Leeds United in November 1971, but this co ...

Joe Jordan Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish football player, coach and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at AFC Bournemouth. A former striker, he played for Leeds United, Manchester United, and Milan, among others at club ...

* Don Masson *

Leonid Burjak Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide. People with the name include: * Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright a ...

* Anatoliy Konkov *

Eugenio Leal Eugenio Leal Vargas (born 13 May 1954) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his 12-year professional career with Atlético Madrid, appearing in more than 230 competitive games and winning two La Liga cham ...

Pirri José Martínez Sánchez (born 11 March 1945), nicknamed Pirri, is a Spanish former footballer. A central midfielder in the early part of his career, he finished up as a sweeper. He spent the vast majority of his career with Real Madrid, appear ...

Björn Andersson Björn Andersson (born 20 July 1951) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is best remembered for representing Bayern Munich and was part of their European Cup victory in 1975. A full international between 197 ...

Peter Risi Peter Risi (16 May 1950 – 11 December 2010) was a Swiss footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a striker. Career Born in Buochs, Risi played club football for FC Winterthur, FC Zürich and FC Luzern, and was t ...

Claudio Sulser Claudio Sulser (born 8 October 1955 in Lugano, Switzerland) is a retired football striker. During his club career, Sulser played for FC Mendrisio-Stabio, FC Vevey Sports 05, Grasshoppers Zürich and FC Lugano. He also represented the Swiss ...

* Serge Trinchero * Mehmet Özgül * Volkan Yayim *

Nick Deacy Nick Deacy (born 19 July 1953) is a Welsh former footballer who played as a striker. He used to play for PSV Eindhoven, and won the UEFA Cup with them in 1978, coming on as a substitute in the second leg of the final. After a spell with Vite ...

Zoran Filipović Zoran Filipović ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Филиповић, ; born 6 February 1953) is a Montenegrin former football coach and player, best known for his playing stints with Red Star Belgrade and S.L. Benfica. Club career Filipović, born 6 Fe ...

Dražen Mužinić Dražen Mužinić (born 25 January 1953) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Mužinić spent most of his career in his native Yugoslavia. With Hajduk Split he won four league titles, five cups and he was cap ...

* Aleksandar Trifunović ;1 own goal *

László Bálint László Bálint (born 1 February 1948, in Budapest) is a former Hungarian footballer. During his club career he played for Ferencvárosi TC, Club Brugge K.V., Toulouse FC and Grenoble Foot 38. He earned 76 caps and scored 3 goals for th ...

(playing against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) *

Gregorio Benito Gregorio "Goyo" Benito Rubio (21 October 1946 – 2 April 2020) was a Spanish footballer who played as a central defender. He spent most of his 16-year professional career with Real Madrid. Club career Benito was born in El Puente del Arzobisp ...

(playing against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

) * Ian Evans (playing against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 Fifa World Cup Qualification (Uefa)

FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...