1978 FIFA World Cup squads

Group 1

Argentina

Head coach: César Luis Menotti Note that this squad is numbered alphabetically by surname, unlike traditional numbering systems where the goalkeeper has shirt number 1 and so forth.

France

Head coach: Michel Hidalgo

Hungary

Head coach: Lajos Baróti

Italy

Head coach: Enzo Bearzot

Note: With the exception of the goalkeepers, who were assigned the traditional shirt numbers for the role (1, 12 and 22) the Italian team was numbered alphabetically within their respective positions – Defenders (from 2 to 8), Midfielders (from 9 to 15), Wingers (16 and 17) and Forwards (from 18 to 21).

Group 2

Mexico

Head coach: José Antonio Roca

Poland

Head coach: Jacek Gmoch

Tunisia

Head coach: Abdelmajid Chetali

West Germany

Head coach: Helmut Schön

Group 3

Austria

Head coach: Helmut Senekowitsch

Brazil

Head coach: Cláudio Coutinho

Spain

Head coach: Hungary Ladislao Kubala

Sweden

Head coach: Georg Ericson

Group 4

Iran

Head coach: Heshmat Mohajerani

Netherlands

Head coach: Austria Ernst Happel

• Some of the players who had been in the Dutch squad at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, where the Netherlands used a purely alphabetical numbering system, were given the same numbers again in 1978. This applied to: Jan Jongbloed (number 8), René van de Kerkhof (number 10), Willy van de Kerkhof (number 11), Johan Neeskens (number 13), Johnny Rep (number 16), Wim Rijsbergen (number 17), and Wim Suurbier (number 20).
• Hugo Hovenkamp withdrew from the squad before the tournament began, but after the deadline for naming replacement players had passed. The Netherlands thus went to the World Cup with only 21 players.

Peru

Head coach: Marcos Calderón

Scotland

Manager: Ally MacLeod

Notes

Each national team had to submit a squad of 22 players. All the teams included 3 goalkeepers, except Mexico who only called two.

Coaches representation by country

References

References

1. (29 May 2019). "Hugo Hovenkamp: "Het winnen van de beker gaf een gevoel van onoverwinnelijkheid"".