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
1986 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) November 1985. The winner of the tournament was Australia, who qualified for the UEFA–OFC play-off against Scotland for a finals position. Australia lost, meaning that there were no OFC teams at the finals in Mexico. The winning team of the OFC qualification tournament played the UEFA Group 7 runners-up in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone (OFC). Four teams entered the competition. Two OFC members competed: