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
2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Final were still a relatively new beach soccer nation having only first competed in 2006 and at their first World Cup in 2011, however had gained experience and solidified their place as a top team having reached three consecutive World Cup semi finals in doing so at this year's tournament and now two consecutive World Cup finals too after losing to hosts Portugal 5–3 in the last occurring World Cup final, in 2015. Tahiti were also world ranked 6th prior to the match. Comparatively, Brazil have dominated the international beach soccer scene since the start of the World Championships in 1995