Argentina 78

Argentina had been expected to stage the 1978 tournament from as early as October 1964 - a month that saw Argentina become the last remaining major footballing power in the America's yet to be chosen to host a World Cup after Mexico defeated them in a vote to stage the finals in 1970. In light of threats to expel Argentina from the 1970 qualifiers following the behaviour of both players and officials during the 1966 Quarter-final v England*, one British newspaper went one step further and called for FIFA to deny Argentina the 1978 championships, but they were confirmed as hosts at a meeting in October 1968. Yet, as a new decade unfolded, there were growing doubts as to whether Argentina would be a suitable venue - by the mid-1970's it was a country racked by political violence and apparently on the brink of civil war. On 24th March 1976, the Argentine armed forces overthrew the government and replaced it with a military junta, the football world had good reason to fear a lack of security and Belgium and the Netherlands (following an offer to joint-host the tournament) made threats to withdraw, there were also worrying financial concerns and another major stumbling block was the country's lack of colour television - General Omar Actis, chairman of the local World Cup arrangements committee, planned to speak out against a FIFA sponsored plan to build a new stadium at Mar del Plata and install a new colour television system, arguing that it was merely to ensure that Coca Cola and Gillette adverts would look good on European television sets, but before he could give his speech, Actis was murdered - his death was blamed on the Montoneros rebels, thirty of whose supporters were found mutilated in a Buenos Aires suburb the next day. It seemed only a matter of time before FIFA switched the venue, probably to Brazil, but the Junta assured FIFA that no violence would take place during the championships and the new stadium was built and the colour television facilities were installed (PAL 625-line colour, the UK standard). Two of football's biggest international stars, Paul Breitner (West Germany) and Johan Cruijff (Netherlands) pulled out of the finals, citing the political situation in Argentina as their reason, but come June 1978, all 15 nations who had qualified arrived in Argentina ready for play, as did the British TV commentary teams.....

*Ironically, the English FA had voted for Argentina to stage the 1970 finals (due to concerns for Mexico's altitude problem).

"How the World Cup reaches you"
From the "ITV World Cup 78" magazine
"In the stadium itself the commentary team will be positioned in one of the 150 special booths designed to accommodate commentators from all over the world. For television each booth will have a monitor to see the action replay shots provided by the cameras. All the pictures taken by the Argentine television service will be shared by the world and back in London, the hopes are that they will be as good as those provided by ITV at home. The pictures themselves will be relayed by radio links or underground cable to a transmitting station at Barcarce on the east coast of Argentina. From there a a dish shaped aerial sends them towards the INTELSAT IVA satellite 22,300 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. The INTELSAT orbits the Earth at the same speed as the Earth rotates and thus keeps a stationary position over the Equator. The Satellite in turn amplifies and transmits the signals across the World, North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. About one third of the globe can receive the pictures at the same time.
In detail, the pictures from one or both matches are received via the European Broadcast Union network, at one or both of the European Earth stations in Spain and Germany. In the case of Madrid, they are responsible for converting and supplying the pictures via another satellite to those countries in North and South America receiving on a different picture standard. From Germany, at Raisting, the German Post Office is responsible for passing on the signal, not only to the Eastern European countries and the Far East, but also to Britain where the signal is received from the EBU network, finally reaching ITV studios in London via the Post Office Tower. It is then distributed to all stations throughout the ITV network.
For the commentators, Hugh Johns, Gerald Sinstadt, Martin Tyler, Gerry Harrison and Arthur Montford in Argentina and Brian Moore as the host back in London, the live transmissions will bring them together with thousands of miles between them. And the live programmes only tell half the story. The highlights of the other games need to be edited down in time for all the other transmissions that go out during the series. Even when the programmes are off the air the studios will be continually in action, co-ordinating the output from the team of reporters in Argentina headed by Jack Charlton and Ian St. John who will both be working to send back up to the minute information.
It all adds up to a giant size headache for ITV's World Cup Team, but they have already spent over two years preparing for the World Cup, and that is more than some of the teams taking part. So settle down and enjoy the best of the action on your ITV screens, we're sure you'll enjoy it."

ITV's World Cup 1978 theme tune
"Action Argentina" performed by The South Bank Team accompanied ITV's World Cup title sequence which was a mixture of the participating nation's flags and various action clips. The music was similar in style to that of the 1974 ITV theme, a fast paced upbeat trumpet led number with absolutely no hint of a Latin American (or Scottish) influence, however, the '78 tune - which ran for 3:03mins in total - did include a modern sounding synthesizer passage and it was this section that was heard on the broadcasts*.

BBC coverage
The BBC's World Cup theme tune was very much in the spirit of the host nation, "Argentine Melody (Cancion De Argentina)" was performed by "San Jose featuring Rodriguez Argentina" and reached no.14 on the singles charts, although it was in fact written and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and performed by British musicians. Webber had no doubt been asked to compose the tune on the strength of his writing the music to "Don't cry for me, Argentina" which had been a massive hit for Julie Covington some 18 months earlier. The BBC's commentary team was David Coleman, Barry Davies, John Motson and Alan Weeks, Bobby Charlton was a co-commentator, Archie McPherson commentated for BBC Scotland. Presentation in London was handled by Frank Bough.

British TV coverage of Argentina 78

ITV finals are in white, BBC or non-televised matches are in grey.

Qualifiers & Friendlies

The qualifying draw was made in Guatemala on 20th November 1975. England were not seeded, but Scotland were - the other European seeds being Bulgaria, East Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Soviet Union, Sweden and Yugoslavia. There were nine European pools - Group's 1-4 included four teams, groups 5-9 had just three. Only the winners of each group would progress to the finals with the exception of Group 9 who's winners would have to play-off with South America's 3rd placed team.
 

Sun 13/Jun/1976    Finland 1 (Paatelainen) England 4 (Pearson, Keegan 2, Channon)
Qualifier in Helsinki
BBC LIVE
David Coleman
*Live on BBC1 from 6:15-8:20pm. England's  first World Cup match under manager Don Revie saw Stuart Pearson have a goal ruled out for offside on 9, but the same player headed England into a legitimate lead on 14, Finland netted a surprise equaliser on 28 when Matti Paatelainen headed downwards and Clemence could only push the ball against the near post and in for 1-1, but England were back in front within three minutes when Keegan headed in from an acute angle. On 56 Channon was sent clear, his initial shot was blocked but he picked up the re-bound and finished neatly to make it 3-1. It was 4-1 on the hour when Keegan dispossessed Tolsa and ran 30 years before scoring his 2nd. Gerry Francis made his 12th and final appearance in England's colours.

Wed 08/Sep/1976    England 1 (Pearson) Republic of Ireland 1 (Daly(pen))
Friendly at Wembley
BBC Highlights
David Coleman
*BBC1 showed highlights of this friendly at 9:55-10:50pm. RTE in Ireland showed the match live from 7:40-9:30pm. England disappointed with Eire having the better of the play under the outstanding leadership - on and off the field - of Johnny Giles. Pearson volleyed in Keegan's cross from close range to put England ahead at the end of the first half on 44, Gerry Daly equalised with a penalty on 55 following a foul on Steve Heighway by Ray Wilkins. Debutant Charlie George was subbed and this proved to be his only cap.

Wed 08/Sep/1976  Scotland 6 (Rioch, Masson(pen), Dalglish, A.Gray 2, E.Gray) Finland 0
Friendly
BBC SCOTLAND Highlights
Commentator: ?????
*BBC1 SCOTLAND "Sportscene" 9:55-10:50pm

Wed 06/Oct/1976    Wales 0 West Germany 2 (Beckenbauer, Heynckes)
Friendly in Cardiff
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*Wales' "Centenary International". All ITV regions except Grampian showed highlights of this at 10:30-11:25pm.

Wed 13/Oct/1976    England 2 (Tueart, Royle) Finland 1 (Nieminen)
Qualifier at Wembley
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore & Jack Charlton
*Highlights were shown across the ITV network (except Grampian) at 10:30-11:35pm. Though England won, goal difference could prove to be crucial in a four team group from which only the winners would qualify, it was also a poor performance for which manager Don Revie apologised.

Wed 13/Oct/1976  Czechoslovakia 2 (Panenka, Petras) Scotland 0
Qualifier in Prague
BBC SCOTLAND LIVE
Commentator: ?????
*This was shown LIVE in Scotland only on BBC1 at 4:55-6:50pm (with a break for "News from Scotland" at HT). Andy Gray and Czech defender Ondrus were sent off in the first half.  The Czechs ended the Scots' nine-match unbeaten run with two 2nd half goals.

Wed 13/Oct/1976    Netherlands 2 (Krol, Cruijff) Northern Ireland 2 (McGrath, Spence)
Qualifier in Rotterdam
BBC N.IRELAND LIVE
*This was shown LIVE in Northern Ireland only on BBC1 at 7:50-9:50pm (with a break for the news at HT). George Best played in his first international since November 1973. A terrific start to the campaign for the Irish against the current World Cup runners-up, but this would prove to be the only Group 4 fixture that the Dutch would fail to win. McGrath put the Irish ahead on 4, Ruud Krol equalised on 64 and Johan Cruijff put the home side ahead on 66, but Northern Ireland snatched a point with a late equaliser through Spence on 88. Highlights of this and Scotland's match may have been seen by English viewers on "Sportsnight".

Wed 10/Nov/1976   Belgium 2 (Van Gool, Lambert) Northern Ireland 0
Qualifier in Liege
BBC N.IRELAND LIVE
*LIVE on BBC1 in Northern Ireland only from 6:50-9:00pm. Highlights may have been seen by mainland British viewers on "Sportsnight" at 10:05-10:55pm. Van Gool's drive made it 1-0 on 29, Lambert headed in the 2nd on 52.

Wed 17/Nov/1976    Italy 2 (Antognoni, Bettega) England 0
Qualifier in Rome
BBC Highlights
David Coleman
*BBC1 9:55-10:55pm, Jimmy Hill introduced from the studio where he was joined by Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball and Tommy Docherty. Apparently the game was not shown live because of concerns about people's attendance at work! Italy dominated the game and post match press comments described the Italians as 'world class' and England as mere journeymen. Roy McFarland played his 28th and final match for England.

Wed 17/Nov/1976    Scotland 1 (Evans(og)) Wales 0
Qualifier at Hampden
STV Highlights
Arthur Montford?
*A 30 minute highlights package shown in the SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN regions only from 10:30pm, BBC1 SCOTLAND & BBC1 WALES also showed highlights of this game at 9:55-10:55pm.

Wed 09/Feb/1977    England 0 Netherlands 2 (Peters 2)
Friendly at Wembley
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*England well beaten by an impressive Dutch team, both goals were scored in the first half (this was only the 6th time continental opposition had beaten England on home soil). Paul Madeley made his 24th and final appearance for England.

Wed 30/Mar/1977    England 5 (Keegan, Francis, Kennedy, Channon 2(1pen)) Luxembourg 0
Qualifier at Wembley
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore & Jack Charltlon
*Luxembourg had a player sent off (only the 2nd in a Wembley international). ITV conducted interviews with Duncan McKenzie and Don Revie. Welsh viewers saw their own programme......

Wed 30/Mar/1977    Wales 3 (L.James 2, Deacy) Czechoslovakia 0
Qualifier at Wrexham
HTV WALES Highlights
Hugh Johns
*A fine win for Wales against the European champions.

Wed 27/Apr/1977    Scotland 3 (Hartford, Dalglish, J.Craig) Sweden 1 (Wendt)
Friendly
BBC SCOTLAND Highlights
*Shown in Scotland only on "Sportscene" BBC1 from 10:25pm. Manager Willie Ormond resigned on 5th May.

Wed 27/Apr/1977   West Germany 5 (Bonhof(pen), K.Fischer 2, D.Müller, Flohe) Northern Ireland 0
Friendly in Cologne
*No British TV coverage scheduled (possibly included on "Sportsnight" at 9:35-10:25pm). Gerry Armstrong made his international debut in this match in which all 5 goals were scored in the 2nd half, Bonhof from the penalty spot on 55, Fischer on 58, Müller on 65, Fischer with his 2nd on 84 and Flohe on 90.

Wed 08/Jun/1977    Brazil 0 England 0
Friendly in Rio de Janeiro
*No TV coverage (with the match being  played after midnight bst & the next day's schedule dominated by the Jubilee, the TV companies could not justify the asking price of the Brazilian federation)

Sat 11/Jun/1977   Iceland 1 (Albertsson) Northern Ireland 0
Qualifier in Reykjavic
BBC N.IRELAND
*This kicked off at 4pm bst on Saturday, but highlights were not shown until Sunday night on BBC1 in Northern Ireland only at 10:30-11:35pm. The only goal was scored by Ingi Bjorn Albertsson on 32, sending Northern Ireland to the bottom of the group.

Sun 12/Jun/1977    Argentina 1 (Bertoni) England 1 (Pearson)
Friendly in Buenos Aires
BBC LIVE
John Motson.
*Argentine TV did not have colour cameras and so this was in black & white, LIVE coverage from 6:45-8:45pm on BBC1.

Wed 15/Jun/1977    Uruguay 0 England 0
Friendly in Montevideo
*No TV coverage (the match was played after midnight bst and British TV could not justify the fee for the rights to show it), this was Don Revie's last match as manager.

Wed 15/Jun/1977    Chile 2 (Crisosto 2) Scotland 4 (Dalglish, Macari 2, Hartford)
Friendly
*Ally MacLeod now Scotland's manager.

Sat 18/Jun/1977    Argentina 1 (Passarella(pen)) Scotland 1 (Masson(pen))
Friendly in Buenos Aires
STV Highlights
Arthur Montford?
*Highlights on SCOTTISH only at 10:30-11pm, BBC1 SCOTLAND showed it LIVE from 6:50-8:55pm. Argentine TV were still only equipped to broadcast the pictures in black & white (They had been the 9th country in the world to launch a Television service back in November 1951).

Thu 23/Jun/1977    Brazil 2 (Zico, Cerezo) Scotland 0
Friendly in Rio
STV LIVE
Arthur Montford?
*Shown LIVE in the SCOTTISH region only from 12:45am Friday.

Tue 06/Sep/1977    Wales 0 Kuwait 0
Friendly at Wrexham
BBC WALES Highlights
*BBC1 Wales only at 11:00-11:40pm.

Wed 07/Sep/1977    England 0 Switzerland 0
Friendly at Wembley
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*Ron Greenwood's first match as temporary England Manager was also the 46th and final England appearance for Mick Channon.

Wed 07/Sep/1977    East Germany 1 (Schade) Scotland 0
Friendly in East Berlin
STV Highlights
Arthur Montford?
*This was shown by SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN at the same time the English region's showed England v Switzerland.

Tue 20/Sep/1977    Kuwait 0 Wales 0
Friendly in Kuwait
*No TV coverage scheduled. Wales keeper Dai Davies was refused permission to enter Kuwait with the rest of the squad, it was believed to be because officials objected to an Israeli stamp on his passport.

Wed 21/Sep/1977    Scotland 3 (Jordan, Hartford, Dalglish) Czechoslovakia 1 (Gajdušek)
Qualifier at Hampden
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore*
*This was shown in England too. Presumably Arthur Montford commentated for Scottish & Grampian viewers

Wed 21/Sep/1977   Northern Ireland 2 (McGrath, McIlroy) Iceland 0
Qualifier in Belfast
BBC N.IRELAND Highlights
*BBC1 N.IRELAND showed highlights at 10:55-11:40pm.

Wed 12/Oct/1977    Luxembourg 0 England 2 (Kennedy, Mariner)
Qualifier in Luxembourg
BBC Highlights
John Motson
*BBC1 9:55-10:55pm. England's failure to win by a healthy margin in Luxembourg, coupled with Italy's 6-1 thrashing of Finland a few days later, effectively ruined England's chances of qualifying. Gordon Hill made his 6th and final international appearance in England colours.

Wed 12/Oct/1977    Wales 0 Scotland 2 (Masson(pen), Dalglish)
Qualifier at Anfield
STV Highlights
Arthur Montford
*Highlights shown only in the SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN regions, BBC1 Scotland showed it LIVE, BBC1 Wales showed highlights. Scotland's win secured their place in Argentina, the Scots were awarded a controversial penalty on 78 minutes when striker Joe Jordan handled the ball in the area - the French referee saw it as hand-ball by a Welsh defender, Don Masson converted the spot-kick to put Scotland 1-0 up, Kenny Dalglish added a 2nd on 85 mins.

Wed 12/Oct/1977   Northern Ireland 0 Netherlands 1 (Van de Kerkhof)
Qualifier in Belfast
BBC N.IRELAND LIVE
*LIVE on BBC1 in Northern Ireland as a late programme change from 8:05pm, it was to be George Best's 37th and final appearance for Northern Ireland and Johan Cruijff's penultimate game for the Dutch. Ren van de Kerkhof scored the only goal on 74.

Wed 16/Nov/1977    England 2 (Keegan, Brooking) Italy 0
Qualifier at Wembley
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore
*Gerry Harrison talked to Alan Mullery and Jack Charlton after the match and Sinstadt interviewed Ron Greenwood. England moved to the top of the group with this victory, two points ahead of Italy, but there was still one group match left to play the following month - Italy v Luxembourg. As England and Italy's goal difference was now identical, Italy only needed to beat Luxembourg by a single goal to claim qualification - they won 3-0. Despite failing to qualify, Ron Greenwood was handed the manager's job permanently on 12th December.

Wed 16/Nov/1977  Czechoslovakia 1 (Nehoda) Wales 0
Qualifier
HTV WALES Highlights
Hugh Johns
*HTV Wales 10:45-11:35pm. Not 100% sure on this one, Times lists it as "Sportsnight".

Wed 16/Nov/1977    Northern Ireland 3 (Armstrong 2, McGrath) Belgium 0
Qualifier in Belfast
BBC N.IRELAND Highlights
*Highlights were shown in Northern Ireland on BBC1 at 11:25-pm-12:10am.

Wed 14/Dec/1977    West Germany 1 (Fischer) Wales 1 (D.Jones)
Friendly in Dortmund
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Fischer put the Germans ahead on 46, Jones equalised on 78.

Sat 14/Jan/1978    World Cup Draw
*Brian Moore travelled to Buenos Aires to cover the draw (from where he also presented that weekend's edition of "On The Ball"), there was no programme specifically devoted to it in England although news of the draw was scheduled to be included in the 10-10:15pm ITN news bulletin. SCOTTISH and GRAMPIAN both had a "Scotsport Special" at 9-10pm which presumably showcased live coverage of the draw.

Wed 22/Feb/1978    West Germany 2 (Worm, Bonhof) England 1 (Pearson)
Friendly in Munich
BBC Highlights
*BBC1 "Sportsnight" 9:55-11:10pm.

Wed 22/Feb/1978    Scotland 2 (Gemmill(pen), Wallace) Bulgaria 1 (Mladenov)
Friendly
BBC SCOTLAND Highlights
*BBC1 SCOTLAND "Sportscene" 9:55-11:10pm.

Tue 18/Apr/1978    Iran 0 Wales 1 (Dwyer)
Friendly in Teheran
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Iran arranged this friendly in preparation for their World Cup finals fixture v Scotland. Phil Dwyer scored the only goal on 70.

Wed 19/Apr/1978    England 1 (Keegan) Brazil 1 (Gil)
Friendly at Wembley
BBC LIVE
David Coleman
*BBC1 "Sportsnight Special", 7:30-9:55pm.

Wed 24/May/1978    England 4 (Barnes, Neal(pen), Francis, Currie) Hungary 1 (Nagy)
Friendly at Wembley
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore*
*"The Mid-week Match" 10:30-11:45pm. One source says Gerald Sinstadt commentated on this one (Moore was listed in TVTimes).

*In 1974 Argentina pressed for an increase in participating nations for the 1978 finals from 16 to 20, this proposal was initially agreed, but FIFA then decided to cut back to 16. Louis Wouters (president of the Belgian FA) said "If raising the entry meant that more teams of the calibre of Haiti, Zaire and Australia would reach the finals, then I would rather be champion of Europe than champion of the world."

Sat 27/05/1978    "World At Their Feet"
*10:15-11:15pm, this was an STV production (networked across the UK) which set out to capture the mood of the country "getting ready to take on the world in its usual outrageous manner".

Mon 29/05/1978    Bank Holiday Sport - World Cup '78
*A 15 minute slot scheduled for a "Special satellite report" at 1:10-1:25pm during ITV's Bank holiday version of "World of Sport".

Wed 31/05/1978    "Action Argentina"
*This was ITV's preview programme shown at 7:30-8:30pm and presented by Brian Moore with guest contributions from Brian Clough, Kevin Keegan and Johan Cruijff (the Dutch star who had decided not to take part).

First Round
Game 1

Thu 01/06/1978    West Germany 0 Poland 0
Group 2 (7pm bst)
LIVE
Commentator: Hugh Johns & Jack Charlton
*ITV coverage began at 5:45pm and included the opening ceremony (which was described by Gerald Sinstadt, not Hugh Johns who voiced the actual match), BBC1 also showed this and the match live with David Coleman commentating.

Fri 02/06/1978    "World Cup '78"
*A surprisingly lengthy Friday morning programme (10:25am-noon) that included highlights of the previous day's opening game as well as news and discussion.

Fri 02/06/1978    France 1 (Lacombe) Italy 2 (Rossi, Zaccarelli)
Group 1 (5:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerry Harrison*
*TVTimes says Gerald Sinstadt commentated. France scored in the opening minute. There was a special World Cup edition of the game show "Celebrity Squares" on ITV later this evening (apparently running 15 minutes later than advertised), an all Scottish celebrity line-up included current players Lou Macari and Derek Johnstone plus old boys Bill Shankly and Denis Law. Barry Davies commentated for BBC1.

Fri 02/06/1978    Tunisia 3 (Kaabi, Ghommidh, Dhouib) Mexico 1 (Vasquez(pen))
Group 2 (8:45pm bst)
Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Not shown live by either channel. BBC1 (Alan Weeks) showed highlights during coverage of the late night match. ITV showed clips/highlights the next day.

Fri 02/06/1978    Hungary 1 (Csapo) Argentina 2 (Luque, Bertoni)
Group 1 (11:15pm bst)
Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt*
*one source says Hugh Johns commentated for ITV, BBC1 (John Motson) showed this match live. ITV waited until the following day.

Sat 03/06/1978    "World of Sport"
*Brian Moore hosted the "World Cup '78" section from 12:35-12:55pm

Sat 03/06/1978    Spain 1 (Dani) Austria 2 (Schachner, Krankl)
Group 3 (5:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt*
*TVTimes billed Gerry Harrison as the commentator. John Motson voiced the match for BBC1.

Sat 03/06/1978    Sweden 1 (Sjöberg) Brazil 1 (Reinaldo)
Group 3 (5:45pm bst)
Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*BBC1 (Barry Davies) showed this live at the same time ITV showed Spain v Austria, the Brazil match was infamously refereed by Clive Thomas who ruled out a last minute Brazil 'winner' by blowing for full time just before the ball hit the back of the net.

Sat 03/06/1978    Peru 3 (Cueto, Cubillas 2) Scotland 1 (Jordan)
Group 4 (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Arthur Montford & Joe Harper*
*Hugh Johns & Ian St. John were scheduled to commentate for non-Scottish viewers but the line failed and so Montford's commentary was heard across the network, Ian St John's autobiography describes Johns storming out of the booth in disgust, while Saint himself continued a less than flattering commentary of his own using some choice language. He later received a severe dressing down for this. BBC1, who were also showing the match live, suffered a similar line fail problem in reverse, Archie McPherson was supposed to commentate for viewers in Scotland but they heard David Coleman instead. All that was nothing compared to what happened on the pitch and in the dressing room, Scotland had a penalty saved at 1-1 before going on to lose and Willie Johnston failed a drugs test after the match, a hay-fever remedy was blamed but Johnston was ordered home in disgrace.

Sat 03/06/1978    Iran 0 Netherlands 3 (Rensenbrink 3(2pens))
Group 4 (8:45pm bst)
Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Probably shown after the Scotland v Peru match as coverage ended at 11pm. Alan Weeks was at this one for BBC1.

Sun 04/06/1978    "World Cup '78 - Game of the Week"
*A one hour slot (2:15-3:15pm) presented by Brian Moore.

Game 2

Tue 06/06/1978    Italy 3 (Rossi, Bettega, Benetti) Hungary 1 (Toth(pen))
Group 1 (5:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Jack Charlton
*David Coleman for BBC1.

Tue 06/06/1978    Poland 1 (Lato) Tunisia 0
Group 2 (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Martin Tyler
*ITV showed this at the same time BBC1 showed the other Group 2 match live. Alan Weeks covered the Poland game for the BBC.

Tue 06/06/1978    Mexico 0 West Germany 6 (D.Müller, H.Müller, Rummenigge 2, Flohe 2)
Group 2 (8:45pm bst)
Highlights
Hugh Johns
*BBC1 (John Motson) showed this live (directly after the "The Germans" episode of "Fawlty Towers") at the same time ITV were showing Poland v Tunisia (ITV showed highlights of the Mexico v West Germany match at half-time and full-time).

Tue 06/06/1978    Argentina 2 (Passarella(pen), Luque) France 1 (Platini)
Group 1 (11:15pm bst)
Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Live on BBC1 (Barry Davies), ITV's highlights were shown the following afternoon during its' coverage of the Derby (1pm-4:45pm).

Wed 07/06/1978    Austria 1 (Krankl(pen)) Sweden 0
Group 3 (5:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt
*ITV showed this at the same time BBC1 showed the other Group 3 match live. Barry Davies commentated on Austria v Sweden for the BBC.

Wed 07/06/1978    Brazil 0 Spain 0
Group 3 (5:45pm bst)
Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Live on BBC1 (David Coleman & Bobby Charlton) at the same time ITV showed Austria v Sweden (ITV showed highlights of Brazil v Spain at half-time and full-time).

Wed 07/06/1978    Scotland 1 (Eskandarian(og)) Iran 1 (Danaeifard)
Group 4 (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Hugh Johns & Ian St. John*
*Arthur Montford commentated for Scottish & Grampian viewers (probably with Joe Harper as co-commentator), BBC1 also showed this live (Archie McPherson for viewers in Scotland, John Motson elsewhere).

Wed 07/06/1978    Netherlands 0 Peru 0
Group 4 (8:45pm bst)
Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Highlights were shown during coverage of the Scotland v Iran match. Alan Weeks commentated for BBC1.

Thu 08/06/1978    "World Cup '78"
*There were two highlights/news slots in today's ITV schedule - Firstly at 1pm as "World Cup '78 and Epsom Racing" and then a half-hour show at 5:15pm, both were presented by Brian Moore.

Sat 10/06/1978    "World of Sport"
*Brian Moore hosted the "World Cup '78" section from 12:35-12:55pm

Game 3

Sat 10/06/1978    France 3 (Lopez, Berdoll, Rocheteau) Hungary 1 (Zombori)
Group 1 (5:45pm bst)
Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Live on BBC1, ITV showed highlights during coverage of the later games. Both teams turned up at the ground with white shirts only, France had to borrow a set of green and white striped shirts belonging to Mar del Plata City regional league team Kimberley FC.

Sat 10/06/1978    Mexico 1 (Rangel) Poland 3 (Boniek 2, Deyna)
Group 2 (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Martin Tyler
*ITV showed this at the same time BBC1 showed the other Group 2 match live, Poland won the group.

Sat 10/06/1978    Tunisia 0 West Germany 0
Group 2 (8:45pm bst)
Highlights
Hugh Johns
*Live on BBC1 (David Coleman & Bobby Charlton), West Germany through as runners-up. ITV showed highlights during their coverage of the other matches.

Group 2 Final Table
1. Poland       +3  5
2. West Germany +6  4
3. Tunisia      +1  3
4. Mexico       -10 0

Sat 10/06/1978    Italy 1 (Bettega) Argentina 0
Group 1 (11:15pm bst)
LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Jack Charlton
*Italy won the group, Argentina through as runners-up. ITV's coverage of tonight's games began at 8:30pm and, apart from a ten minute ITN News bulletin at 10:35pm, continued until 1:30am.

Group 1 Final Table
1. Italy        +4  6
2. Argentina    +1  4
3. France        0  2
4. Hunagry      -5  0

Sun 11/06/1978    "World Cup '78 - Game of the Week"
*Presented by Brian Moore with Brian Clough, 2:15-3:15pm.

Sun 11/06/1978    Sweden 0 Spain 1 (Asensi)
Group 3 (5:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt
*ITV showed this at the same time BBC1 showed the other Group 3 match live.

Sun 11/06/1978    Brazil 1 (Roberto Dinamite) Austria 0
Group 3 (5:45pm bst)
Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Live on BBC1. ITV showed highlights during coverage of the other game. Austria won the group on goals scored ahead of Brazil in 2nd.

Group 3 Final Table
1. Austria      +1  4
2. Brazil       +1  4
3. Spain         0  3
4. Sweden       -2  1

Sun 11/06/1978    Scotland 3 (Dalglish, Gemmill 2(1pen)) Netherlands 2 (Rensenbrink(pen), Rep)
Group 4 (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Hugh Johns & Ian St. John
*Arthur Montford commentated for Scottish & Grampian viewers (probably with Joe Harper as co-commentator) Johan Cruyff joined Brian Moore and Brian Clough in the studio, coverage began at 8:15pm and ended at 11:15pm. BBC1 (Archie McPherson commentating for viewers in Scotland, David Coleman elsewhere) also showed this live. Scotland needed to win by three goals to go through ahead of the Netherlands in 2nd place, the Scots led 3-1 on 68 mins but Rep's goal 3 minutes later ended Scottish hopes.

Sun 11/06/1978    Peru 4 (Velasquez, Cubillas 3(2pens)) Iran 1 (Rowshan)
Group 4 (8:45pm bst)
Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Peru won the group. Highlights shown during coverage of Scotland v Netherlands.

Group 2 Final Table
1. Peru         +5  5
2. Netherlands  +2  3
3. Scotland     -1  3
4. Iran         -6  1

Mon 12/06/1978    "World Cup '78"
*Two round-up programmes presented by Brian Moore, the first at 1pm-2pm and another at 5:15-5:45pm.

Second Round
Game 4

Wed 14/06/1978    Netherlands 5 (Brandts, Rensenbrink(pen), Rep 2, W.van de Kerkof) Austria 1 (Obermayer)
Group A (5:45pm bst)
LIVE
Hugh Johns & Jack Charlton

Wed 14/06/1978    West Germany 0 Italy 0
Group A (5:45pm bst)
Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Probably live on BBC1, ITV highlights shown during coverage of other games.

Wed 14/06/1978    Brazil 3 (Dirceu 2, Zico(pen)) Peru 0
Group B (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St. John

Wed 14/06/1978    Argentina 2 (Kempes 2) Poland 0
Group B (11:15pm bst)
Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Live on BBC1 (David Coleman). ITV highlights shown the following day.

Thu 15/06/1978    "World Cup '78"
*Two further round-up programmes presented by Brian Moore, at 1pm-2pm and 5:15-5:45pm.

Sat 17/06/1978    "World of Sport"
*Brian Moore hosted the "World Cup '78" section from 12:35-12:55pm

Sun 18/06/1978    "World Cup '78 - Game of the Week"
*Presented by Brian Moore, 2:15-3:15pm.

Game 5

Sun 18/06/1978    Poland 1 (Szarmach) Peru 0
Group B (4:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St. John

Sun 18/06/1978    West Germany 2 (Abramczik, D. Müller) Netherlands 2 (Haan, R.van de Kerkof)
Group A (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Hugh Johns & Jack Charlton

Sun 18/06/1978    Italy 1 (Rossi) Austria 0
Group A (8:45pm bst)
Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Live on BBC1 (Barry Davies) at the same time ITV showed West Germany v Netherlands.

Sun 18/06/1978   Argentina 0 Brazil 0
Group B (11:15pm bst)
Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Live on BBC1 (John Motson & Ron Greenwood). ITV showed highlights the following day.

Mon 19/06/1978    "World Cup '78"
*Two more round-up programmes presented by Brian Moore, 1pm-2pm and 5:15-5:45pm.

Game 6

Wed 21/06/1978    Netherlands 2 (Brandts, Haan) Italy 1 (Brandts(og))
Group A (5:45pm bst)
LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt
*Netherlands won the group to go into the final. As runners-up Italy would play off for 3rd place. BBC1 (John Motson) showed highlights.

Wed 21/06/1978    Austria 3 (Vogts(og), Krankl 2) West Germany 2 (Rummenigge, Hölzenbein)
Group A (5:45pm bst)
Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Live on BBC1

Group A Final Table
1. Netherlands  +5  5
2. Italy         0  3
3. West Germany -1  2
4. Austria      -4  2

Wed 21/06/1978    Brazil 3 (Nelinho, Roberto Dinamite 2) Poland 1 (Lato)
Group B (8:45pm bst)
LIVE
Hugh Johns & Ian St. John

Wed 21/06/1978    Argentina 6 (Kempes 2, Tarantini, Luque 2, Houseman) Peru 0
Group B (11:15pm bst)
Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Live on BBC1 (David Coleman). Argentina went into this match needing to win by a 4 goal margin to overtake Brazil at the top of the group, the Peruvian goalkeeper Quiroga was actually born in Argentina which fuelled accusations that Peru had conspired to allow Argentina to reach the final.

Group A Final Table
1. Argentina    +8  5
2. Brazil       +5  5
3. Poland       -3  2
4. Peru         -10 0

Thu 22/06/1978    "World Cup '78"
*Brian Moore's round-up programmes went out at 1pm-2pm and 5:15-5:45pm.

Sat 24/06/1978    "World of Sport"
*A final World Cup '78 slot on "World of Sport" for Brian Moore, 12:35-12:55pm

3rd/4th place play off

Sat 24/06/1978    Brazil 2 (Nelinho, Dirceu) Italy 1 (Causio)
LIVE (7pm bst)
Gerald Sinstadt & Ian St. John
*Also shown live on BBC1 with John Motson commentating.

The Final

Sun 25/06/1978    "Who'll Win The World Cup?"
*ITV preview show at 2:15-3:15pm, presented by Brian Moore with contributions from Brian Clough, Kevin Keegan, Pat Crerand, Jack Charlton and Ian St. John.

Sun 25/06/1978    Argentina 3 (Kempes 2, Bertoni) Netherlands 1 (Nanninga) *AET
LIVE (7pm bst)
Hugh Johns & Jack Charlton
*Also shown live on BBC1. ITV coverage began at 6:15pm and ended around 10pm. Had the match ended in a draw after extra-time, a replay would have taken place on the following Tuesday night.
 
 

Links
ITV regional football highlights 1968-83 home page
Argentina 78 Stats

Page last updated November 2009