Argentina

Argentina's route to the final

	Opponent	Result
1	Hungary	2–1
2	France	2–1
3	Italy	0–1
4	Poland	2–0
5	Brazil	0–0
6	Peru	6–0

Argentina were drawn into Group 1 for the World Cup, in which they were joined by Italy, France, and Hungary.^[3] Their first match was against Hungary at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on 2 June.^[9] Károly Csapó gave Hungary the lead after ten minutes, scoring from a rebound after goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol saved his shot. Five minutes later, Leopoldo Luque equalized for Argentina after goalkeeper Sándor Gujdár lost hold of Mario Kempes's free kick. Daniel Bertoni scored from a cross to seal a 2–1 victory for Argentina.^[10] Their second match was against France in Buenos Aires on 6 June.^[11] Daniel Passarella scored from a penalty to give Argentina the lead one minute before halftime, before Michel Platini scored from Henri Michel's header to equalize for France in the 60th minute. Argentina retook the lead in the 74th minute when Luque struck a 27 yards (24 m) shot into the French goal. Argentina held on to record a 2–1 win.^[12] Their third match was against Italy in Buenos Aires on 10 June.^[13] Roberto Bettega scored the only goal of the game from Paolo Rossi's pass. Argentina qualified as runners-up for the second group stage.^[14]

In Group B, Argentina's opponents in their first group game were Poland at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario on 14 June.^[15] Fifteen minutes into the game, Kempes scored from Bertoni's curling cross to give Argentina the lead. In the 71st minute, Osvaldo Ardiles passed the ball to Bertoni, who hit a drive shot past goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski and into the goal to give Argentina a 2–0 victory.^[16] In their second group game, Argentina played Brazil in Rosario on 18 June. The match ended goalless, leaving the Group B results to be decided by Argentina–Peru and Brazil–Poland matches.^[17] Argentina's third and final group game was against Peru, with the match taking place in Rosario on 21 June.^[18] Due to goal difference, Argentina needed to score four goals to surpass Brazil and qualify for the final.^[19] Argentina won 6–0 with goals from Kempes, Alberto Tarantini, Leopoldo Luque, and René Houseman.^[20]

The Netherlands

The Netherlands's route to the final

	Opponent	Result
1	Iran	3–0
2	Peru	0–0
3	Scotland	2–3
4	Austria	5–1
5	West Germany	2–2
6	Italy	2–1

The Netherlands were drawn into Group 4, alongside Scotland, Peru, and Iran.^[3] Their first group game was against Iran at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza on 3 June.^[21] The Netherlands won 3–0 with Rob Rensenbrink scoring all three goals, two of which came from the penalty spot.^[22] In their next match, the Netherlands faced Peru in Mendoza on 7 June; the match ended goalless.^[23] The Netherlands' opponents in their third group game were Scotland in Mendoza on 11 June.^[24] The Netherlands scored the first goal in the 34th minute through Rensenbrink, before Kenny Dalglish equalized for Scotland before the end of halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Archie Gemmill scored from a penalty to give Scotland the lead, with him extending their lead in the 68th minute. Three minutes later, Johnny Rep scored from 30 yards (27 m) to pull a goal back for the Netherlands, and the match ultimately ended 3–2.^[25]

In Group A, the Netherlands' first match was against Austria at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba on 14 June.^[26] The Netherlands took the lead after six minutes through Ernie Brandts, with the other four goals scored by Rensenbrink via penalty—his fifth goal of the tournament—Johnny Rep, and Willy van de Kerkhof. Erich Obermayer scored Austria's solo goal in the 80th minute, as the Netherlands won 5–1.^[27] In their second match, the Netherlands faced defending champions West Germany in Córdoba on 18 June.^[28] West Germany took the lead after three minutes through Rüdiger Abramczik, before Arie Haan levelled the score for the Netherlands in the 26th minute. Dieter Müller gave West Germany the lead in the 70th minute, with Kerkhof equalising twelve minutes later. The match finished 2–2.^[29] Their final group game was against Italy at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on 21 June.^[30] In the ninth minute, Brandts scored an own goal while trying to save Roberto Bettega's shot. Italy held on to the lead until the 49th minute, when Brandts equalized the score, with Haan scoring the winning goal from 40 yards (36 m) in what Reuters described as the "hottest shots of the tournament."^[31]

Summary

The final took place on 25 June 1978 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires in front of 71,483 supporters, and was refereed by Sergio Gonella from Italy.^[32] 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.^[33][34][35] In retaliation, the Netherlands team refused to attend the post-match ceremonies.^[36]

Six minutes into the game, the Netherlands had a chance to score when Johnny Rep met Arie Haan's free kick with a header, but went wide of the goal. Nine minutes later, Ruud Krol was booked for a tackle on Bertoni. In the 25th minute, Argentina had an opportunity when Daniel Passarella received Jorge Olguín's cross and hit a goal-bound shot, but it went above the Dutch goal. Argentina took the lead in the 38th minute through Mario Kempes: Leopoldo Luque received a pass from Osvaldo Ardiles and kicked the ball to Kempes, who struck a low shot into the goal. The first half finished with Argentina leading 1-0.

In the 51st minute, Argentina had a chance to score when Leopoldo Luque ran past Brandts, but goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed ran out of the penalty area and kicked the ball away. The Netherlands made a substitution in the 60th minute with Dick Nanninga replacing Rep. In the 81st minute, Nanninga received Johan Neeskens' cross and ran past multiple Dutch players in the penalty area before striking the ball past goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol to equalize the score for the Netherlands. In the final second of regular time, Rensenbrink's shot struck the crossbar, and the match went into extra time. Despite various tackles by the Netherlands, Argentina continued to press, and in the 104th minute, Kempes took a shot that went between the Dutch defenders and into the net to double their lead. Six minutes before the end of extra time, Bertoni received Kempes's pass and scored the winning goal from a low shot.^[33][37]

Details

25 June 1978 (1978-06-25)

15:00 UTC−3

Argentina	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Netherlands
Kempes 38', 105' Bertoni 115'	[Report 1]	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

Match reports