1978 FIFA World Cup Netherlands and Brazil were the gold, silver and bronze medalists, respectively. Iran and Tunisia made their first appearances in the tournament. This was also the last World Cup tournament to use the original inclusion of 16 teams. Since the first World Cup in 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, in Spain, FIFA expanded that tournament to 24 teams. The official match ball was the Adidas Tango. Argentina was chosen as the host nation
1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) two places, and a play-off was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round. Hong Kong advanced to the Final Round. Korea Republic advanced to the Final Round. Iran advanced to the Final Round. Kuwait advanced to the Final Round. Australia advanced to the Final Round. Iran qualified. 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian and Oceanian zone (AFC and OFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "1978 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of