1978 FIFA World Cup final

1978 FIFA World Cup final

Aerial view of the stadium prior the final.
Event	1978 FIFA World Cup
Argentina Netherlands 3 1
After extra time
Date	25 June 1978
Venue	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
Referee	Sergio Gonella (Italy)
Attendance	71,483

The 1978 FIFA World Cup final was a football match played to determine the winner of the 1978 FIFA World Cup. It was contested by teams from the Netherlands and the host country of Argentina on 25 June 1978 at Argentina's largest stadium, the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. The match was won by the Argentine team in extra time by a score of 3–1. Mario Kempes, who finished as the tournament's top scorer, was named the man of the match. The Netherlands team lost their second consecutive World Cup final, both times to the host nation, after losing to West Germany in 1974.

Route to the final

Argentina	Round	Netherlands
Opponent	Result	First round	Opponent	Result
Hungary	2–1	Match 1	Iran	3–0
France	2–1	Match 2	Peru	0–0
Italy	0–1	Match 3	Scotland	2–3
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Italy 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 6 Argentina 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 4 France 3 1 0 2 5 5 0 2 Hungary 3 0 0 3 3 8 −5 0	Final standing	Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Peru 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 5 Netherlands 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 3 Scotland 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 3 Iran 3 0 1 2 2 8 −6 1
Opponent	Result	Second round	Opponent	Result
Poland	2–0	Match 1	Austria	5–1
Brazil	0–0	Match 2	West Germany	2–2
Peru	6–0	Match 3	Italy	2–1
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Argentina 3 2 1 0 8 0 +8 5 Brazil 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 5 Poland 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 2 Peru 3 0 0 3 0 10 −10 0	Final standing	Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Netherlands 3 2 1 0 9 4 +5 5 Italy 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 3 West Germany 3 0 2 1 4 5 −1 2 Austria 3 1 0 2 4 8 −4 2

This was the first World Cup final where both finalists had already lost a match, with Argentina losing to Italy 1–0 and the Netherlands losing 3–2 to Scotland, both in the first group stage. This would not occur again until the 2022 final.

Match

Summary

Mario Kempes scoring the first goal of the match

The start of the final was mired in controversy, as the Dutch accused the Argentines of using stalling tactics to delay the match, causing tension to build in front of a hostile Buenos Aires crowd. The host team eventually emerged five minutes late after the audience was whipped into a frenzy. The Argentines also questioned the legality of a plaster cast on René van de Kerkhof's wrist, although he had worn it for earlier games without objections, causing the Dutch to threaten to leave the pitch. The Italian referee, Sergio Gonella, upheld the complaints and forced Van de Kerkhof to apply extra bandage. In retaliation, the Netherlands team refused to attend the post-match ceremonies.

The match itself saw a number of fouls and a hostile atmosphere, and ticker tape and confetti landed on the pitch. Mario Kempes scored the first goal, slotting under Jan Jongbloed from 12 yards out. The Netherlands almost equalised when Rob Rensenbrink received a headed pass from René van de Kerkhof, but the shot was blocked by the boot of goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol. The Dutch eventually equalised the score when van de Kerkhof's cross found substitute Dick Nanninga, who kicked the ball into the goal. The Dutch had a chance to win the final minutes of the match when Rensenbrink kicked a long shot past Fillol, but the shot bounced off the post and the match went to extra time. Kempes netted the eventual winner in the 105th minute after running into the box, evading two Dutch sliding tackles as he did so. Kempes' shot was saved by Jongbloed and Kempes jumped to avoid him, but the ball bounced off of Jongbloed and hit Kempes twice, first in the knee, then in the foot, before bouncing off of Jongbloed's head, all before Kempes had even landed. The ball bounced high in the air, and two Dutch defenders came rushing to clear the ball from the open goal. Although the goal was officially awarded to Kempes, the replay angle from behind the goal showed that it might have been an own goal last touched by Wim Suurbier before entering the net.

Daniel Bertoni sealed the game in the second half of extra time after Kempes made a long run into the box and was tackled by a Dutch defender. The ball ricocheted several times before landing at the feet of Bertoni, who had a clear sight of the goal inside the box. The ricochets left Jongbloed out of position, allowing Bertoni to score.

Details

25 June 1978 (1978-06-25)

15:00 UTC−3

Argentina	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Netherlands
Kempes 38', 105' Bertoni 115'		Nanninga 82'

River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 71,483

Referee: Sergio Gonella (Italy)

Argentina

Netherlands

GK 5 Ubaldo Fillol RB 15 Jorge Olguín CB 7 Luis Galván CB 19 Daniel Passarella (c) LB 20 Alberto Tarantini DM 6 Américo Gallego CM 2 Osvaldo Ardiles  40'  66' AM 10 Mario Kempes RW 4 Daniel Bertoni LW 16 Oscar Alberto Ortiz  75' CF 14 Leopoldo Luque Substitutes: MF 1 Norberto Alonso GK 3 Héctor Baley MF 8 Rubén Galván MF 9 René Houseman  75' MF 12 Omar Larrosa  93'  66' Manager: César Luis Menotti

GK 8 Jan Jongbloed SW 5 Ruud Krol (c)  15' RB 6 Wim Jansen  73' CB 22 Ernie Brandts LB 2 Jan Poortvliet  96' RM 13 Johan Neeskens CM 9 Arie Haan LM 11 Willy van de Kerkhof RF 10 René van de Kerkhof CF 16 Johnny Rep  58' LF 12 Rob Rensenbrink Substitutes: DF 4 Adrie van Kraay DF 17 Wim Rijsbergen FW 18 Dick Nanninga  58' GK 19 Pim Doesburg DF 20 Wim Suurbier  94'  73' Manager: Ernst Happel

Assistant referees Ramón Barreto (Uruguay) Erich Linemayr (Austria)

Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if scores level Replay on 27 June if scores still level Five substitutes named, maximum of two used

See also

• Argentina–Netherlands football rivalry
• Argentina at the FIFA World Cup
• Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup

References

External links

• 1978 FIFA World Cup Final holland78.net