The 1978 World Cup held in Argentina held a lot of meaning for this South American country. Dictator Jorge Rafael Videla wants to use football to calm political unrest (hundreds of Argentines were massacred for political purposes).
Just as “calculated” Argentina did The miracle of overcoming a series of big names at that time like Brazil and the Netherlands to win the championship, in which star Mario Kempes was mentioned as the best player of the tournament (Top scorer with 6 goals) helped Argentina reach the top for the first time World Cup 1978.
But behind that “bright spot” Argentina’s championship still makes many People questioned. Did the Argentine Government influence the home team to win the World Cup at home?
The match between Peru and Argentina in the second group stage is considered one of the most memorable. The most mysterious match in football history. At that time, Argentina was in the same group as Brazil, Poland and Peru. In the first round, Brazil defeated Peru 3-0 and Argentina defeated Poland 2-0. In the second round, Argentina and Brazil drew 0-0.
In the early match in the third round, Brazil defeated Poland with a score of 3-1. That means that Argentina must beat Peru with a difference of 4 goals to reach the final. In the end, Argentina destroyed Peru with a score of 6-0.
It is worth mentioning that at that time public opinion raised questions about this match. There was news that Argentina provided 35,000 tons of grain to Peru (at that time Peru was facing a food crisis) in exchange for a big victory. To this day, this case is still a mystery.
In the final match, Argentina used every trick to prevent the strength of the Netherlands (without Johan Cruyff in this tournament). Mario Kempes opened the score in the 38th minute for Argentina and in the 82nd minute Nanninga equalized 1-1 for the Netherlands.
Luck was also on the side of the Tango team when Rob Rensenbrink hit the post at the post. There were only 2 minutes left in the match. Argentina won 3-1 in extra time and won the championship thanks to goals from Kempes (105′) and Bertoni (115′).
< div class=”content-box align-center” style=”border:solid 1px #999;background:#e6e6fa;width:90%”>
1978 World Cup Overview</p >
Host country: Argentina
Duration: From June 1 – June 25
Participating teams: 16 teams
Teams Champion: Argentina
Number of matches: 38
Goals: 102 (2 68 goals/match)
Number of spectators: 1 545 791 (40 679 people/match).
Top scorer: Mario Kempes (6 goals).
“
