Play-Off Group 9 Europe - 3rd Group 10 South America | Hungary 9-2 Bolivia | date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | Sat 29.10.77 | Budapest | Hungary | 6-0 | Bolivia | 5-0 | 1-0 Nilasi 12' 2-0 Torocsik 19' 3-0 Zombori 22' 4-0 Varadi 27' 5-0 Pinter 39' 6-0 Nagy 81' Referee: Barreto Ruiz, Uruguay. | Wed 30.11.77 | La Paz | Bolivia | 2-3 | Hungary | 1-2 | 0-1 Torocsik 36' 0-2 Halasz 43' 1-2 Aragones 45'pen. 1-3 Del Llano 84'OG 2-3 Aragones 90' Referee: Corver, Netherlands. |
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9 Groups - 10 Berths. 4 groups with 4 teams and 5 groups with 3 teams. | Only Albania from all UEFA members did not take part. Eliminated: Reigning European Champion from EC 1976 - Czechoslovakia. | Goal difference tie-break was introduced. Italy was ahead of England by this criteria. | From 1974 Austria, France, Spain and Hungary replaced East Germany, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Chile (from Play-off). | |
Champion | West Germany | Group 1 | Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Cyprus | Group 2 | Italy, England, Finland, Luxembourg | Group 3 | Austria, East Germany, Turkey, Malta | Group 4 | Netherlands, Belgium, Northern Ireland, Iceland | Group 5 | France, Bulgaria, Ireland |
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Group 1 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Poland | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 17: | 4 | +13 | 2. Portugal | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12: | 6 | +6 | 3. Denmark | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14: | 12 | +2 | 4. Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3: | 24 | -21 |
Team | Pola | Port | Denm | Cypr | Poland | --- | 1:1 | 4:1 | 5:0 | Portugal | 0:2 | --- | 1:0 | 4:0 | Denmark | 1:2 | 2:4 | --- | 5:0 | Cyprus | 1:3 | 1:2 | 1:5 | --- |
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Poland qualified to World 1978 and was eliminated in Second Groups Round. | Key match: 16.10.76 Portugal 0-2 Poland. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Sun 23.05.76 | Limassol | Cyprus | 1-5 | Denmark | 1-3 | | Sat 16.10.76 | Porto | Portugal | 0-2 | Poland | 0-0 | | Wed 27.10.76 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 5-0 | Cyprus | 0-0 | | Sun 31.10.76 | Warszawa | Poland | 5-0 | Cyprus | 3-0 | | Wed 17.11.76 | Lisboa | Portugal | 1-0 | Denmark | 0-0 | | Sun 05.12.76 | Limassol | Cyprus | 1-2 | Portugal | 0-1 | | Sun 01.05.77 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 1-2 | Poland | 0-1 | | Sun 15.05.77 | Limassol | Cyprus | 1-3 | Poland | 1-2 | | Wed 21.09.77 | Chorzow | Poland | 4-1 | Denmark | 2-0 | | Sun 09.10.77 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 2-4 | Portugal | 1-2 | | Sat 29.10.77 | Chorzow | Poland | 1-1 | Portugal | 1-0 | | Wed 16.11.77 | Faro | Portugal | 4-0 | Cyprus | 2-0 | |
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Group 2 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Italy | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18: | 4 | +14 | 2. England | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15: | 4 | +11 | 3. Finland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11: | 16 | -5 | 4. Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2: | 22 | -20 |
Team | Ital | Engl | Finl | Luxe | Italy | --- | 2:0 | 6:1 | 3:0 | England | 2:0 | --- | 2:1 | 5:0 | Finland | 0:3 | 1:4 | --- | 7:1 | Luxembourg | 1:4 | 0:2 | 0:1 | --- |
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Italy qualified to World 1978 and lost Third Place Match. | Italy won with better goal difference. | Key match: 15.10.77 Italy 6-1 Finland. | For second consecutive World Cup England did not qualify. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Sun 13.06.76 | Helsinki | Finland | 1-4 | England | 1-2 | | Wed 22.09.76 | Helsinki | Finland | 7-1 | Luxembourg | 3-0 | | Wed 13.10.76 | London | England | 2-1 | Finland | 1-0 | | Sat 16.10.76 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 1-4 | Italy | 0-2 | | Wed 17.11.76 | Roma | Italy | 2-0 | England | 1-0 | | Wed 30.03.77 | London | England | 5-0 | Luxembourg | 1-0 | | Thu 26.05.77 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 0-1 | Finland | 0-1 | | Wed 08.06.77 | Helsinki | Finland | 0-3 | Italy | 0-1 | | Wed 12.10.77 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 0-2 | England | 0-1 | | Sat 15.10.77 | Torino | Italy | 6-1 | Finland | 3-0 | | Wed 16.11.77 | London | England | 2-0 | Italy | 1-0 | | Sat 03.12.77 | Roma | Italy | 3-0 | Luxembourg | 2-0 | |
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Group 3 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Austria | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14: | 2 | +12 | 2. East Germany | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 15: | 4 | +11 | 3. Turkey | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9: | 5 | +4 | 4. Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0: | 27 | -27 |
Team | Aust | EaGe | Turk | Malt | Austria | --- | 1:1 | 1:0 | 9:0 | East Germany | 1:1 | --- | 1:1 | 9:0 | Turkey | 0:1 | 1:2 | --- | 4:0 | Malta | 0:1 | 0:1 | 0:3 | --- |
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Austria qualified to World 1978 and was eliminated in Second Groups Round. | Key match: 12.10.77 East Germany 1-1 Austria. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Sun 31.10.76 | Izmir | Turkey | 4-0 | Malta | 1-0 | | Wed 17.11.76 | Dresden | East Germany | 1-1 | Turkey | 1-0 | | 1-0 Kotte 3'pen. 1-1 Cemil 31'pen. Referee: Partridge, England. | Sun 05.12.76 | La Valletta | Malta | 0-1 | Austria | 0-0 | | Sat 02.04.77 | La Valletta | Malta | 0-1 | East Germany | 0-0 | | Sun 17.04.77 | Wien | Austria | 1-0 | Turkey | 1-0 | | Sat 30.04.77 | Salzburg | Austria | 9-0 | Malta | 5-0 | | Sat 24.09.77 | Wien | Austria | 1-1 | East Germany | 1-1 | | Wed 12.10.77 | Leipzig | East Germany | 1-1 | Austria | 0-1 | | 0-1 Hattenberger 43' 1-1 Lowe 50'. Referee: Foote, Scotland. | Sat 29.10.77 | Potsdam | East Germany | 9-0 | Malta | 3-0 | | Sun 30.10.77 | Izmir | Turkey | 0-1 | Austria | 0-0 | | Wed 16.11.77 | Izmir | Turkey | 1-2 | East Germany | 0-1 | | Sun 27.11.77 | La Valletta | Malta | 0-3 | Turkey | 0-2 | |
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Group 4 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Netherlands | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11: | 3 | +8 | 2. Belgium | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7: | 6 | +1 | 3. Northern Ireland | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7: | 6 | +1 | 4. Iceland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2: | 12 | -10 |
Team | Neth | Belg | NoIr | Icel | Netherlands | --- | 1:0 | 2:2 | 4:1 | Belgium | 0:2 | --- | 2:0 | 4:0 | Northern Ireland | 0:1 | 3:0 | --- | 2:0 | Iceland | 0:1 | 0:1 | 1:0 | --- |
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Netherlands qualified to World 1978 and lost the Final against host - Argentina. | Key matches: 26.03.77 Belgium 0-2 Netherlands and 26.10.77 Netherlands 1-0 Belgium. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Sun 05.09.76 | Reykjavik | Iceland | 0-1 | Belgium | 0-0 | | 0-1 Van der elst 73' Referee: Carpenter, Ireland. | Wed 08.09.76 | Reykjavik | Iceland | 0-1 | Netherlands | 0-1 | | 0-1 Geels. Referee: Mulhall, Ireland. | Wed 13.10.76 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | 2-2 | Northern Ireland | 0-1 | 56,000 | 0-1 Chris McGrath 4' 1-1 Ruud Krol 64' 2-1 Johan Cruyff 66' 2-2 Derek Spence 88' Referee: Franco Martinez, Spain. | Wed 10.11.76 | Liege | Belgium | 2-0 | Northern Ireland | 1-0 | | 1-0 Van Gool 29' 2-0 Lambert 52' Referee: Prokop, East Germany. | Sat 26.03.77 | Antwerpen | Belgium | 0-2 | Netherlands | 0-1 | | 0-1 Rep 19' 0-2 Johan Cruyff 65' Referee: Gonella, Italy. | Sat 11.06.77 | Reykjavik | Iceland | 1-0 | Northern Ireland | 1-0 | | 1-0 Albertsson. Referee: Glockner, East Germany. | Wed 31.08.77 | Nijmegen | Netherlands | 4-1 | Iceland | 3-0 | | 1-0 Van Hanegem 15' 2-0 Geels 18' 3-0 Rep 35' 3-1 Sigurvinsson 68' 4-1 Geels 89' Referee: Hirviniemi, Finland. | Sat 03.09.77 | Brussles | Belgium | 4-0 | Iceland | 2-0 | 1-0 Van Binst 15' Martins 20' Courant 60' 4-0 Lambert 65' Referee: Thime, Norway. | Wed 21.09.77 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | 2-0 | Iceland | 0-0 | | 1-0 Chris McGrath 67' 2-0 Sammy Mcllroy 76' Referee: Lund-Sorensen, Denmark. | Wed 12.10.77 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | 0-1 | Netherlands | 0-0 | | 0-1 Willy van de Kerkhof 76' Referee: Garrido, Portugal. | Wed 26.10.77 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 1-0 | Belgium | 1-0 | | 1-0 Rene van de Kerkhof 4' Referee: Partridge, England. | Wed 16.11.77 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | 3-0 | Belgium | 1-0 | | 1-0 Armstrong 42' 2-0 Chris McGrath 58' 3-0 Armstrong 74' Referee: Konrath, France. |
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Group 5 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. France | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7: | 4 | +3 | 2. Bulgaria | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5: | 6 | -1 | 3. Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2: | 4 | -2 |
Team | Fran | Bulg | Irel | France | --- | 3:1 | 2:0 | Bulgaria | 2:2 | --- | 2:1 | Ireland | 1:0 | 0:0 | --- |
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France qualified to World 1978 and was eliminated in First Groups Round. | Key match: 16.11.77 France 3-1 Bulgaria. | Key moment: Penalty miss of Hristo Bonev after 83' in match - 09.10.76 Bulgaria 2-2 France. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Sat 09.10.76 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 2-2 | France | 1-2 | | start at 16:00. 0-1 Michel Platini 37' 0-2 Bernard Lacombe 40' 1-2 Hristo Bonev 45' 2-2 Pavel Panov 68'. pen. miss: Hristo Bonev (Bul) 83' Referee: Foote, Scotland. | Wed 17.11.76 | Paris | France | 2-0 | Ireland | 0-0 | | 1-0 Michel Platini 47' 2-0 Bathenay 88' Referee: Maksimivic, Yugoslavia. | Wed 30.03.77 | Dublin | Ireland | 1-0 | France | 1-0 | | 1-0 Liam Brady 11' Referee: Linemayr, Austria. | Wed 01.06.77 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 2-1 | Ireland | 1-0 | | Referee: 1-0 Pavel Panov 14' 1-1 Givens 47' 2-1 Andrey Zhelyazkov 76' Referee: Zlatanos, Greece. | Wed 12.10.77 | Dublin | Ireland | 0-0 | Bulgaria | 0-0 | | Referee: Gonella, Italy. | Wed 16.11.77 | Paris | France | 3-1 | Bulgaria | 1-0 | | 1-0 Rocheteau 38' 2-0 Michel Platini 63' 2-1 Chavdar Tsvetkov 85' 3-1 Dalger 89' Referee: Corver, Netherlands. |
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Group 6 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Sweden | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7: | 4 | +3 | 2. Norway | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3: | 4 | -1 | 3. Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3: | 5 | -2 |
Team | Swed | Norw | Swit | Sweden | --- | 2:0 | 2:1 | Norway | 2:1 | --- | 1:0 | Switzerland | 1:2 | 1:0 | --- |
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Sweden qualified to World 1978 and was eliminated in First Groups Round. | Key match: 09.10.76 Switzerland 1-2 Sweden. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Wed 16.06.76 | Stockholm | Sweden | 2-0 | Norway | 2-0 | | Wed 08.09.76 | Oslo | Norway | 1-0 | Switzerland | 0-0 | | Sat 09.10.76 | Basel | Switzerland | 1-2 | Sweden | 1-1 | | Wed 08.06.77 | Stockholm | Sweden | 2-1 | Switzerland | 0-0 | | Wed 07.09.77 | Oslo | Norway | 2-1 | Sweden | 1-0 | | Sun 30.10.77 | Berne | Switzerland | 1-0 | Norway | 1-0 | |
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Group 7 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Scotland | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6: | 3 | +3 | 2. Czechoslovakia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4: | 6 | -2 | 3. Wales | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3: | 4 | -1 |
Team | Scot | Czec | Wale | Scotland | --- | 3:1 | 1:0 | Czechoslovakia | 2:0 | --- | 1:0 | Wales | 0:2 | 3:0 | --- |
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Scotland qualified to World 1978 and was eliminated in First Groups Round. | Key match: 12.10.77 Wales 0-2 Scotland. | European champion Czechoslovakia was eliminated. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Wed 13.10.76 | Prague | Czechoslovakia | 2-0 | Scotland | 0-0 | | Wed 17.11.76 | Glasgow | Scotland | 1-0 | Wales | 1-0 | | Wed 30.03.77 | Wrexham | Wales | 3-0 | Czechoslovakia | 1-0 | | Wed 21.09.77 | Glasgow | Scotland | 3-1 | Czechoslovakia | 2-0 | | Wed 12.10.77 | Liverpool(ENG) | Wales | 0-2 | Scotland | 0-0 | | Wed 16.11.77 | Prague | Czechoslovakia | 1-0 | Wales | 1-0 | |
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Group 8 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Spain | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4: | 1 | +3 | 2. Romania | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7: | 8 | -1 | 3. Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6: | 8 | -2 |
Team | Spai | Roma | Yugo | Spain | --- | 2:0 | 1:0 | Romania | 1:0 | --- | 4:6 | Yugoslavia | 0:1 | 0:2 | --- |
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Spain qualified to World 1978 and was eliminated in First Groups Round. | Key matches: 13.11.77 Romania 4-6 Yugoslavia and 30.11.77 Yugoslavia 0-1 Spain. | In 1 match were scored 10 goals. In all other 5 the goals were only 7. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Sun 10.10.76 | Sevilla | Spain | 1-0 | Yugoslavia | 0-0 | | Sat 16.04.77 | Bucuresti | Romania | 1-0 | Spain | 1-0 | | Sun 08.05.77 | Zagreb | Yugoslavia | 0-2 | Romania | 0-2 | | Wed 26.10.77 | Madrid | Spain | 2-0 | Romania | 0-0 | | Sun 13.11.77 | Bucuresti | Romania | 4-6 | Yugoslavia | 3-2 | | Wed 30.11.77 | Beograd | Yugoslavia | 0-1 | Spain | 0-0 | |
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Group 9 | p | w | d | l | gf | ga | g+- | 1. Hungary | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6: | 4 | +2 | 2. Soviet Union | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5: | 3 | +2 | 3. Greece | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2: | 6 | -4 |
Team | Hung | Sovi | Gree | Hungary | --- | 2:1 | 3:0 | Soviet Union | 2:0 | --- | 2:0 | Greece | 1:1 | 1:0 | --- |
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Winner of this Group required a Play-Off against a South American team. | Hungary qualified to World 1978 and was eliminated in First Groups Round. | Key match: 09.10.76 Greece 1-1 Hungary. | Even Group and the only away draw was decisive. | For second consecutive World Cup Soviet Union did not qualify. |
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date | venue | team 1 | score | team 2 | HT | att. | Sat 09.10.76 | Athens | Greece | 1-1 | Hungary | 0-0 | | Sun 24.04.77 | Moskva | Soviet Union | 2-0 | Greece | 1-0 | | Sat 30.04.77 | Budapest | Hungary | 2-1 | Soviet Union | 1-0 | | Tue 10.05.77 | Thessaloniki | Greece | 1-0 | Soviet Union | 0-0 | | Wed 18.05.77 | Tbilisi | Soviet Union | 2-0 | Hungary | 2-0 | | Sat 28.05.77 | Budapest | Hungary | 3-0 | Greece | 2-0 | |
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