A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, 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:
- Europe (UEFA): 9 or 10 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier West Germany, while 9 places were contested by 31 teams. The team coming ninth in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs (against a team from CONMEBOL).
- South America (CONMEBOL): 3 or 4 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Argentina, while the other 3 places were contested by 9 teams. The team coming third in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs (against a team from UEFA).
- North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 1 place, contested by 17 teams.
- Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 26 teams.
- Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC): 1 place, contested by 22 teams.
A total of 95 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 252 qualifying matches were played, and 723 goals were scored (an average of 2.87 per match).
Read more about 1978 FIFA World Cup Qualification: Continental Zones, Intercontinental Play-Off, Qualified Teams
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