1978 FIFA World Cup squads
Below are the squads for the 1978 FIFA World Cup final tournament in Argentina.
Group 1
Argentina
Head coach: César Luis MenottiNote 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 HidalgoHungary
Head coach: Lajos BarótiItaly
Head coach: Enzo BearzotNote: With the exception of the goalkeepers, who were assigned the traditional shirt numbers for the role the Italian team was numbered alphabetically within their respective positions – Defenders, Midfielders, Wingers and Forwards.
Group 2
Mexico
Head coach: José Antonio RocaPoland
Head coach: Jacek GmochTunisia
Head coach: Abdelmajid ChetaliWest Germany
Head coach: Helmut SchönGroup 3
Austria
Head coach: Helmut SenekowitschBrazil
Head coach: Cláudio CoutinhoSpain
Head coach: Ladislao KubalaSweden
Head coach: Georg EricsonGroup 4
Iran
Head coach: Heshmat MohajeraniNetherlands
Head coach: 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, René van de Kerkhof, Willy van de Kerkhof, Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Wim Rijsbergen, and Wim Suurbier.
- 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.