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
1982 FIFA World Cup Group A 1982 FIFA World Cup Group A Group A was one of four groups of national teams competing in the second stage of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. The group's three matches were staged at the Nou Camp in Barcelona. The group consisted of three teams advancing from the first group stage: Group 1 winners Poland, Group 3 winners Belgium and Group 6 runners-up the Soviet Union. Poland topped the group and advanced to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by eventual champions Italy. The winners of Group 1 and 3 and the runner-up of Group 6 qualified for Group A