Argentina at the FIFA World Cup playmaker position was instead filled by Mario Kempes, who ended up becoming the first Argentinian to win the Golden Ball in addition to being the tournament's top scorer with 6 goals. The Dutch side was missing a superstar of their own: Johann Cruyff did not join the 1978 World Cup squads due to the aftermath of a kidnapping attempt which occurred in 1977. He only disclosed this information 30 years later. The closely contested match was influenced by a hostile atmosphere and ended with the Dutch players refusing to attend the award ceremony after Argentina grabbed the title in extra
2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup place in Tahiti on 16–22 February 2015. However, the tournament was cancelled, and Tahiti were designated by the OFC as their representative. The CONMEBOL Beach Soccer Championship took place in Manta, Ecuador on 19–26 April 2015. A total of 10 teams took part in the tournament. The top three teams qualified for the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Brazil and Paraguay won their respective semi-finals on 25 April 2015 to qualify for the World Cup. On the next day, Argentina won the third place match to also book a place in the World Cup, while Brazil defeated Paraguay in