1978 FIFA World Cup Group A 1978 FIFA World Cup Group A Group A of the 1978 FIFA World Cup was one of two groups of nations competing for the De facto semifinals the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The group's first round of matches began on 14 June and its last matches were played on 21 June. All six group matches were played either at the Estadio Chateau Carreras in Córdoba, or the Estadio Monumental in the capital Buenos Aires. The group consisted of West Germany (the Defending Champions) as well as the Netherlands (the former runners up), Italy and Austria. The Netherlands advanced to the
1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA) in association football. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "1978 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of 32 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 9.5 places (out of 16) in the final tournament. West Germany, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 8.5 spots open for competition between 31 teams. The 31 teams were divided into 9 groups of 3 or 4 teams each (five groups with