Group A of the 1978 FIFA World Cup was one of two groups of nations competing for the

De facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

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 Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. The group consisted of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

(the Defending Champions) as well as the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(the former runners up),

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The Netherlands advanced to the final match, and Italy advanced to the third place match.

Qualified teams

The winners of Group 1 and 3 and the runners-up of Group 2 and 4 qualified for Group A of the second round.

Standings

Matches

Austria vs Netherlands

After an unconvincing group stage performance the Netherlands knew they had to play better if they were to qualify for the finals, and took on surprise qualifiers Austria in their first game. They started well when an unmarked

Ernie Brandts Ernstus "Ernie" Wilhelmus Johannes Brandts (born 3 February 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former player. Playing career Club Born in Didam, he played for local club De Sprinkhanen before joining De Graafschap at 17. After three seasons ...

headed in

Arie Haan Arend "Arie" Haan (; born 16 November 1948) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Netherlands national team of the 1970s. At club level, he enjoyed a successful career ...

's free kick. The Dutch then won a penalty kick after Gerhard Breitenberger fouled

Wim Jansen Wilhelmus Marinus Antonius Jansen (; 28 October 1946 – 25 January 2022) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a midfielder or defender, he spent most of his career at Feyenoord, winning honours including the European C ...

and

Rob Rensenbrink Rob Rensenbrink (; 3 July 1947 – 24 January 2020) was a Dutch footballer and member of the Netherlands national team that reached two World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978. A creative and prolific left winger or forward, he became a legend in B ...

neatly scored. Rensenbrink then took advantage of some poor defending to provide assist for

Johnny Rep John Nicholaas Rep (born 25 November 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He holds the all-time record for FIFA World Cup goals for the Netherlands with 7. Playing career Rep played as a right-footed ...

to score on either side of half time. Austria which created several chances and were unlucky to score in the first half got one back in the eightieth minute when defender

Erich Obermayer Erich Obermayer (born 23 January 1953, in Wien) is a former Austrian football player. Club career Obermayer came aged 16 from FC Wien and played 20 years for Austria Wien. He was chosen in Austria's Team of the Century in 2001. International c ...

scored a brilliant lob over the Dutch goalkeeper for a goal. The Dutch weren't to be deterred as Rensenbrink provided yet another assist this time

Willy van de Kerkhof Wilhelmus Antonius "Willy" van de Kerkhof (; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother René were squad members of the Dutch national team that made the W ...

to score just two minutes later.

Italy vs West Germany

Netherlands vs West Germany

This highly anticipated match was a repeat of the

1974 FIFA World Cup Final The 1974 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match of the 1974 FIFA World Cup, the 10th FIFA World Cup, a competition to determine the world champion among national men's football sides. The match was contested by the Netherlands and West Germany, ...

, with the Netherlands fielding six players who had played that day and West Germany four. The match official

Ramón Barreto Ramón Ivanoes Barreto Ruiz (14 September 1939 – 4 April 2015) was a Uruguayan professional association football referee. He is the only referee in the history of the FIFA World Cup to have been appointed to two consecutive Final matches: in 19 ...

of Uruguay coincidentally had also been one of the linesmen at the 1974 final. The 1974 final had started with the Dutch scoring within two minutes, and in this match there was another early goal, although it went the Germans' way. The Dutch goaltender

Piet Schrijvers Piet Schrijvers (15 December 1946 – 7 September 2022)https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/1875093014/voormalig-oranje-doelman-piet-schrijvers-75-overleden was a Dutch professional football manager and player who played as a goalkeeper. At interna ...

could only parry Rainer Bonhof's free kick right into the path of

Rüdiger Abramczik Rüdiger Abramczik (born 18 February 1956) is a former German association football, football player and coach, best known for his ability to cross the ball (''"Flankengott"''). Club career Abramczik was born in Gelsenkirchen-Erle. He, whose y ...

, who headed home. The Netherlands equalized around the thirty-minute mark when

let fly from 35 yards and into the top corner. Knowing a draw would be enough Netherlands refrained from taking chances in the second half. Against the run of play West Germany were awarded a soft free-kick, the Dutch were complaining with the referee and did not keep their concentration Erich Beer crossed for

Dieter Müller Dieter Müller (né Kaster; 1 April 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. He achieved his greatest success playing for 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga in the late 1970s. Müller scored 177 goals in 303 games i ...

to power in a header. The goal gave the Netherlands the momentum to score though and eight minutes from time

René van de Kerkhof Reinier Lambertus van de Kerkhof (; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. Career Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother Wil ...

took a pass from his twin brother

Willy Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

, cut inside a defender and smashed home. There would be a few more chances as

hit the woodwork and Schrijvers was forced to save from Beer. The match ended in bizarre fashion, with substitute

Dick Nanninga Dirk Jacobus Willem "Dick" Nanninga (17 January 1949 – 21 July 2015) was a Dutch footballer who played as a forward. At club level, he played for Dutch sides BV Veendam, Roda JC and MVV Maastricht. He also had a short spell with Hong Kong ...

shown a yellow card for an off the ball incident and then seconds later referee Barreto showing the same player a red card for apparently laughing at the decision to give him a card. It took five minutes to restore order on the field as the bewildered Nanninga was led off.

Italy vs Austria

Austria vs West Germany

Italy vs Netherlands

This match was a semifinal in all but name with the winner being assured a place in the final, although the Netherlands could advance with a draw and a Germany draw or loss. Italy started the positive and scored when

in an attempt to stop

Roberto Bettega Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his hometown club Juventus, where he won several titles ...

only succeeded in putting the ball into his own net. The goal would have consequences for the Netherlands as

was injured on the play and had to be stretchered off for Jan Jongbloed. Italy dominated the remainder of the first half. In a physical match

was cautioned for fouling

Romeo Benetti Romeo Benetti (; born 20 October 1945) is an Italian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. A tenacious player, Benetti played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, winning titles with A.C. Milan, Juventus and ...

, who was later to pick up a yellow card himself for fouling Rensenbrink, meaning the Italian defender would miss the final should Italy reach it. Early in the second half

was cautioned for a challenge on

Marco Tardelli Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internaziona ...

who later also picked up a yellow card meaning he too would miss Italy's next match. Some felt that

Antonio Cabrini Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'Antoni ...

's challenge on Haan many felt warranted a red card, not just a yellow. Shortly after half time Brandts, who had earlier scored an own goal, blasted home a shot to equalize. Then fourteen minutes from time Haan hit an audacious shot 30 yards out that went off Zoff's left post and into the net.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World

Groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...