Soccer World Cup Final 1978 Argentina vs. the Netherlands

The Netherlands in the final

The Netherlands were there because they were lucky to finish second in their group, behind Brazil, and then they won against Argentina in the semifinal. They were a typical Dutch team with a very technical style of play. Their key players were Johnny Rep, Ruud Gelll, and Rob Rensenbrink. Most of the team was formed by players who played in the 1974 World Cup Final, which they lost 2-1 to West Germany. They had a strong team and were able to finish the tournament without any loss and having conceded only one goal in six games. They were favorites in the final and were expected to win against an Argentine team who was very lucky to reach the final.

Argentina in the final

Argentina were one of the teams who were expected to win the title. They had a great team with excellent individual skills. They had one of the best players of all time in Argentine forward Mario Kempes who was the top scorer in the tournament with 6 goals. Most of their players played together in the 1974 World Cup when they lost the final against Germany. They were favorites to win in 1978 as well but they had some problems. First, they were not lucky because they played in the same group as Brazil. The second problem for them was the fact that their main goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol was injured in the first game against Hungary. Their coach Cesar Luis Menotti decided to replace Fillol with inexperienced Argentine goalkeeper Luis Carniglia and it paid off. The team was lucky, they won the group and then they defeated the tournament hosts Brazil in the quarter-finals.

Game highlights

The game was very tight with few chances for both teams. The Dutch had a couple of good chances in the first half. They had a goal disallowed and Rob Rensenbrink hit the crossbar. For Argentina, Kempes hit the post in the second half. The game was goalless after 80 minutes of normal play and two 30-minute extra periods. Then, Argentine defender Pedro Coman scored in the 110th minute. The Dutch had a chance to equalize in the last few minutes but Rensenbrink missed a chance to score a goal. Then, Argentine captain Alberto Gonzalez scored the second goal in the 119th minute. This goal broke Dutch resistance and they didn’t have any chance to score another goal.

Analysis

Argentina played a typical South American game with their technical and skillful style of play. They were a very good team that was well-balanced. They were not dominated by one player but all 11 players were important to them. Their main advantage was the fact that they were well balanced. They had good technical players who were also fast. They were able to press the Dutch defenders and were very efficient in winning the ball when the Dutch tried to build up their play from the back. The Dutch were a typical Dutch team with a very technical and creative style of play. In the final game, they had problems creating chances against the Argentines. They were a bit unlucky as they had some good chances but failed to score. They were not very efficient in the final third.

Final Words

The 1978 World Cup final was played between Argentina and the Netherlands on July 30, 1978. The final was played in the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This match was expected to be tight but Argentina won the game 3-1. The Netherlands were there because they were lucky to finish second in their group, behind Brazil, and then they won against Argentina in the semifinal. They were a typical Dutch team with a very technical style of play. Their key players were Johnny Rep, Ruud Gelll, and Rob Rensenbrink. The final of this world cup was played between two teams that were not fancied to get that far at the beginning of the tournament.