1978 FIFA World Cup Group A 1978 FIFA World Cup Group A Group A of the 1978 FIFA World Cup was one of two groups of nations competing for the De facto semifinals the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The group's first round of matches began on 14 June and its last matches were played on 21 June. All six group matches were played either at the Estadio Chateau Carreras in Córdoba, or the Estadio Monumental in the capital Buenos Aires. The group consisted of West Germany (the Defending Champions) as well as the Netherlands (the former runners up), Italy and Austria. The Netherlands advanced to 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