1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) qualified. Austria qualified. Netherlands qualified. France qualified. Sweden qualified. Scotland qualified. Spain qualified. Hungary advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off. This is the first time the USSR failed to qualify. The previous absences of the Soviet team at World Cup were all due to them not participating in the qualification. 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
Scotland at the FIFA World Cup Costa Rica, Sweden, and Brazil, but the Scots lost 1–0 to Costa Rica. While they recovered to beat Sweden 2–1 in their second game, they lost to Brazil in their third match 1–0 and were once again eliminated after the first round. Goalkeeper Jim Leighton fumbled a shot that allowed Brazil to score the only goal. Craig Brown guided Scotland to qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, finishing as the best runners-up. Scotland were drawn against holders Brazil in the opening game of the World Cup. John Collins scored from the penalty spot to level the score at 1–1,