1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA) in association football. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification.

A total of 32 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 9.5 places (out of 16) in the final tournament. West Germany, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 8.5 spots open for competition between 31 teams.

The 31 teams were divided into 9 groups of 3 or 4 teams each (five groups with 3 teams and four groups with 4 teams). The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify, except the winner of Group 9, who would advance to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

Summary

Below is a table containing all nine qualifying groups. Teams that qualified and secured a place in the final tournament are highlighted in green, while teams who were eliminated are highlighted in red. The team that secured a place in the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off is highlighted in orange. Teams are ordered by final group position.

Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4	Group 5	Group 6	Group 7	Group 8	Group 9
Poland	Italy	Austria	Netherlands	France	Sweden	Scotland	Spain	Hungary
Portugal  Denmark  Cyprus	England  Finland  Luxembourg	East Germany  Turkey  Malta	Belgium  Northern Ireland  Iceland	Bulgaria  Republic of Ireland	Norway   Switzerland	Czechoslovakia  Wales	Romania  Yugoslavia	Soviet Union  Greece

Key:

• Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.
• Teams highlighted in Orange advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

Group 1

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Poland	11	6	5	1	0	17	4	+13
2	Portugal	9	6	4	1	1	12	6	+6
3	Denmark	4	6	2	0	4	14	12	+2
4	Cyprus	0	6	0	0	6	3	24	−21

Poland qualified.

Group 2

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Italy	10	6	5	0	1	18	4	+14
2	England	10	6	5	0	1	15	4	+11
3	Finland	4	6	2	0	4	11	16	−5
4	Luxembourg	0	6	0	0	6	2	22	−20

Italy qualified.

Group 3

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Austria	10	6	4	2	0	14	2	+12
2	East Germany	9	6	3	3	0	15	4	+11
3	Turkey	5	6	2	1	3	9	5	+4
4	Malta	0	6	0	0	6	0	27	−27

Austria qualified.

Group 4

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Netherlands	11	6	5	1	0	11	3	+8
2	Belgium	6	6	3	0	3	7	6	+1
3	Northern Ireland	5	6	2	1	3	7	6	+1
4	Iceland	2	6	1	0	5	2	12	−10

Netherlands qualified.

Group 5

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	France	5	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3
2	Bulgaria	4	4	1	2	1	5	6	−1
3	Republic of Ireland	3	4	1	1	2	2	4	−2
—	Albania	Withdrew

France qualified.

Group 6

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Sweden	6	4	3	0	1	7	4	+3
2	Norway	4	4	2	0	2	3	4	−1
3	Switzerland	2	4	1	0	3	3	5	−2

Sweden qualified.

Group 7

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Scotland	6	4	3	0	1	6	3	+3
2	Czechoslovakia	4	4	2	0	2	4	6	−2
3	Wales	2	4	1	0	3	3	4	−1

Scotland qualified.

Group 8

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Spain	6	4	3	0	1	4	1	+3
2	Romania	4	4	2	0	2	7	8	−1
3	Yugoslavia	2	4	1	0	3	6	8	−2

Spain qualified.

Group 9

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Hungary	5	4	2	1	1	6	4	+2
2	Soviet Union	4	4	2	0	2	5	3	+2
3	Greece	3	4	1	1	2	2	6	−4

Hungary advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

See also

• 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
• 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
• 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
• 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
• 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

References