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
Hungary at the FIFA World Cup the quarter-final. They have been runners-up on two occasions, in 1938 and 1954. They have failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup since 1986. The third edition of the FIFA World Cup was the first without the host team competing in the final. At half-time, defending champions Italy were leading by 3-1 and Hungary did not manage to get back into the game. The Hungarian Golden Team were favourites for winning the World Cup in Switzerland in 1954 after 31 unbeaten games in the previous five years, among them a recent 7-1 against England and an 8-3 against their