1978 FIFA World Cup knockout stage 1978 FIFA World Cup knockout stage The knockout stage of 1978 FIFA World Cup was a single-elimination tournament involving the four teams that qualified from the second group stage of the tournament. There were two matches: a third place play-off contested by the group runners-up, and the final to decide the champions, contested by the group winners. The knockout stage began with the third place play-off on 24 June and ended with the final on 25 June 1978, both at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Argentina won the tournament with a 3–1 victory over the Netherlands. "All times ART"
1978 FIFA World Cup qualification 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 20 November 1975 at Guatemala City, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Argentina, as the hosts, and West Germany, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. The 16 spots available in the 1978 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows: A total of 95 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 252 qualifying matches were played, and