1978 FIFA World Cup 1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, quadrennial international football world championship tournament, was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by the Argentine hosts, who defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in the final, after extra time. The final was held at River Plate's home stadium, Estadio Monumental, in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth team (after Uruguay, Italy, England and West Germany) to be both hosts and world champions. Argentina, the
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup World Cup runners-up. So did Spain, who were ranked second in the FIFA World Rankings at the time. They were replaced by Turkey, who came third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Five bids came before the deadline at 1 May 2002. Australia, Portugal and the United States put in single bids, while South Africa–Egypt and France–Switzerland put in joint bids. The France–Switzerland bid never materialized. The host was selected on 24 September 2002, during a meeting of FIFA's Executive Committee. The matches were played in: For a list of all squads that appeared in the tournament, see "2003 FIFA