1978 FIFA World Cup Final 1978 FIFA World Cup Final The 1978 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match played to determine the winner of the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The match was contested by hosts Argentina and the Netherlands, in the biggest stadium used in the tournament and in Argentina, the Estadio Monumental in the Argentine capital city of Buenos Aires. The match was won by the Argentine squad in extra time by a score of 3–1. Mario Kempes, who finished as the tournament's top scorer, was named the man of the match. The Netherlands lost their second World Cup final in a
National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup group stage. The first host ever to fail to advance past the first round was South Africa in 2010. † denotes the best result in the team's history, ‡ - the best result at the time of the competition (improved later). The defending World Cup champions were formerly granted an automatic spot in the Cup finals field. As of the 2006 tournament, this berth is no longer guaranteed. However, no defending World Cup champion has yet failed to qualify. Automatic berths have never been given for defending World Cup runners-up. Defending runners-up are 15-for-18 in qualification efforts for the following