Chapter LXXII - River Deep, Mountain High
Group 1
The debut of the hosts was against what in theory was the weakest team in the group, and for the first half, it seemed like the victory was a foregone conclusion. Even without Ramírez (who had injured himself weeks before the tournament) on the attack, Peru opened a 2x0 lead within little more than 20 minutes and then managed the lead for the rest of the first half. But on the second half, Peru began slipping, and within five minutes, the veteran Lee Hoe-taik (the only player in the Korean team that had been in the 1966 squad) scored for Morea, and over the next 20 minutes, the Koreans went up to the attack, seeking the equalizer until they finally got it, on a penalty kick by Park Lee-chun. Only then the Peruvians finally woke up, and began taking back control of the actions, eventually scoring the winning goal with Percy Rojas, nine minutes from the end.
Meanwhile, at Callao, Ruthenia faced the Papal States. the Romans also had their own pre-tournament loss on the attack, with Chinaglia being cut due to injury and being replaced by Alessandro Altobelli as the centerforward. the Ruthenians opened the score with Blokhin, shooting from outside of the area, but within a few minutes, the Romans were dictating the rhythm and putting the Ruthenian defense to the test. Zaccarelli headed in a corner to equalize at the 20th minute, and five minutes later, Altobelli scored off a low cross by Bruno Giordano to put the Romans in the lead. Twelve minutes later, Altobelli deflected Graziani's shot to score the third, and before half-time was through, Dehteryov would have to save two dangerous headers from Graziani. The early second half wasn't much different, and within thirteen minutes, Altobelli completed his hat-trick with a free kick that went in high off the left post. Then, seven minutes later, Bruno Conti scored the fifth of a pass by Graziani, and the Romans spent the rest of the match managing their lead.
Four days later, the Romans visited Korea at Lima, but found Korea a harder opponent than expected - the Koreans outplayed the Giallobianchi
[1] in the midfield, ceded few spaces and had the best chances in the first half, with Kim Jae-han hitting a post and Cha Bum-kun forcing a difficult save from Paolo Conti (no relation to Bruno Conti). The second half started in much the same way, until Giordano headed in a cross from the other Conti and opened the score. With the lead, the Romans began improving and creating their own chances, but the team lost its offensive strength when Franco Cordova replaced Graziani late in he match, but it held the result until the end and secured its qualification to the second round.
The next day, Ruthenia faced Peru, and, apprently still shaken by the previous loss, had a equally hard time holding the Peruvians back in the first half, with Fomenko and Beszonov consistently struggling to hold back Oblitas and Muñante's advances on the wings, and Peru had already wasted three good chances when José Velásquez opened the score after catching the rebound of a kick by Guillermo La Rosa, and six minutes later, Cubillas scored the second on a bicycle kick. In the second half, Ruthenia tried to react and even had some good chances, but the only goal came from Peru, as Sotil caught the rebound from a long-range shot by Oblitas.
Four days later, Korea faced Ruthenia at Callao, on the match with the lowest attendance in the tournament, with both teams still having qualification chances if they won, but Ruthenia now having a much larger goal difference to surmount. And the mission only got harder after sixteen minutes, when Kim Jin-kook opened the score for Korea off a low cross by Cha Bum-kun. Ruthenia tried to react, but the Korean defense was on a excellent day and kept the Ruthenians at bay for the entirety of the first half. Then, in the second half, Beszonov deflected a shot by Cha Bum-kun into his own net and buried the Ruthenian chances for good.
Meanwhile, Peru faced the Papal States, both teams playing for the first place, and with the tie favouring the Romans. The match started on a balanced footing, until Cubillas opened the score at 19 minutes, after a cross by Muñante. After that, the rest of the first half was dominated by Peru, but their finishing left a lot to desire, and on the second half, the Romans were predominating slightly. But they wouldn't be able to actually score until nine minutes from the end, when Graziani headed in a cross from Di Bartolomei. But there was barely any time to celebrate before the Peruvians took the lead again, when Cubillas chested a chip from Rojas and stubbed it acoss Conti. The game ended in farcical controversy. When Altobelli headed in a corner, the goal was disallowed because time had run out — after only eight seconds of injury time. The decision, which looked typical of Thomas, was his last in the finals.
Group 2
The group started mired on controversy before it even started. In 1973, Carlos Bianchi was signed by Stade de Reims, and Argentina, at the time still following the old policy of not calling up players that played outside of the country, stopped calling him up, both for the World Cup qualifiers and the World Cup. Meanwhile, in France, Bianchi remained in his usual form (by the time the 1978 World Cup rolled in, he had been top scorer in four out of the last five French championships), and by 1976, the French national team had decided to call him up, being allowed to do so because technically, he hadn't played any World Cup matches or qualifiers.
On the 1978 qualifiers, Bianchi had scored one third of the goals that France had scored, and his calling up to the Cup was a foregone conclusion, but once France fell into Argentina's group, Argentina protested, claiming that Bianchi's matches for the 1971 South American Championship made Bianchi ineligible to play for France - the argument seemed to be that the South American Championship , even in off-years, counted as a World Cup qualifier. The entire matter was only decided in the FIFA Congress held a week before the start of the tournament, that issued a compromise ruling - Argentina's claim was rejected: under the existing rules, Bianchi was allowed to play for France, however the loophole that allowed that situation was closed - now playing for any international competition match (friendlies didn't count) made a player ineligible to play for another national team.
Anyhow, the group began with Argentina playing against Louisiana at Trujillo. At first the Argentinian team seemed nervous, and the Louisianians added to Argentina’s nervousness with their early goal, Désir putting in the rebound when Fillol didn’t hold Sanon's shot. but Francillon soon returned the compliment, blocking a Kempes free kick for Luque to force the ball in as the keeper collided with his leg. After that, Louisiana were subjected to a series of bodychecks and minor fouls, insignificant on their own but building the frustration. Serafino let most of them go unpunished, though even he had to do something about Passarella’s waist-high kick at Labissière. However, the red cards would end up with the Louisianian players, as Nazaire got his second yellow card after tripping Galván, while two minutes later, Domingue clattered Tarantini. Before all that, Bertoni had put the ball in the net after Francillon seemed to have been fouled.
Meanwhile, France played against Scotland at Chiclayo. At first, it seemed like the indefinition on whether Bianchi would be able to participate or not had gotten to the French too, as within 37 seconds, Johnston hared down the left wing to hit a long cross which Jordan headed past Bertrand-Demanes. In fact it turned out to be just the kickstart Hidalgo had been looking for. Forced to come out from the start, France outplayed a weakened Scottish team. Their goals were both rather odd, the first going in off the bar and various bits of anatomy including Bianchi's leg, the second a first-time ground shot with the keeper possibly unsighted. But there was no doubt about the grip established in midfield by Petit and Guillou, helped by poor showings from Rioch and Masson.
Four days later, France faced Louisiana at Chimbote. In the (ex-)colony x metropole match, the metropole dominated this one, making light of a pitch that had recently been relaid and now came up in great divots. Fourteen minutes in, Trésor opened the score by heading in a corner, but above all, that was Bianchi's day - scoring three times and hitting the woodwork another two times. Six nabbed a poacher’s goal when Francillon couldn’t hold Platini's low shot, and near the end, Janvion's challenge on Dorsainville gave away a debatable penalty, but by then the match was won and lost.
Meanwhile, Argentina faced Scotland at Trujillo. After the poor performance against France, the Scots proceeded to change their midfield lineup, bringing Graeme Souness and Archie Gemmill in for Johnston and Masson's places. Despite the resulting 0x0, the match was a good one, with Argentina's swift ball control being matched by Scotland's midfield, and both teams creating a fair number of dangerous chances. The result was still better for Argentina than for Scotland, but it seemed like Scotland had found their way to go.
Four days later, Scotland faced Louisiana at Piura, both teams needing to win to keep their chances alive. Building on their previous performance, the Scots settled the match within the first half. Dalglish and Labissière scored with spectacular long shots, Souness' low drive took advantage of a mistake by Jean-Joseph, and Archie Gemmill knocked in Hartford’s short cross from the left. Just enough to send the Scots through with the third-place berth.
Meanwhile, France and Argentina played for the first place at Trujillo. After the entire pre-Cup controversy and seeing a tie would be enough to qualify in first place, Hidalgo chose to rest Bianchi that day and put Marc Berdoll on his place.The first half remained mostly lukewarm until near the end, when Trésor handled the ball in the area, and Passarella converted the penalty. The match grew busier in the second, and France had a number of good chances, Platini equalising when Berdoll's lob came back off the bar, and Six shot just past the post after running clear. However, before these chances, the French had to replace their keeper after Bertrand-Demanes crashed his spine against a goalpost, bringing in Dominique Dropsy on his place. Dropsy only got to touch the ball eighteen minutes later... picking it up after Luque had scored with a powerful shot from outside the half-moon.
Group 3
The second loss to Peru in the South American Championship had cost Osvaldo Brandão his job, and he was replaced by former Brazil Olympic team coach and main team fitness coach Cláudio Coutinho, a choice that seemed as unorthodox as João Saldanha's had been nine years before. Soon he got to implement his own philosophy. The failure of the 1974 World Cup team, together with other factors, led many to conclude that the Brazilian method of play, based on individualism and star players, was outdated and that the way to go now was the European model, where players worked together like cogs in a machine. Coutinho attempted to implement a style modelled on the Total Football philosophy that Burgundy and the Papal States had been using to such effect.
Brazil had shown their current colours about two months before, collecting five yellow cards against England at Wembley, where someone should have been sent off. In their debut against Hungary they were less violent but equally uninspired, Rivelino not the force of old, Zico completely off form. In the other hand, despite being the current European champions, the current Magyar side was more hardworking than necessarily skilled, and usually failed to do much against the Brazilian defense either. Brazil opened the score midway through the second half, when Reinaldo's shot from just inside the area went in off the right post, but two minutes later, Várady was fouled inside the area and Masný converted the penalty.
Meanwhile, at Breña, Uganda debuted against Castille. Most expected an easy Castillian win, and they weren't disappointed. Nine minutes in, Santillana intercepted a cross by Quini that seemed set to go over the goal line and scored with a tight angled shot. Twelve minutes later, Santillana scored again, from outside of the area. Castille continued creating chances, easily finding breaches in the Ugandan defense, but most of these chances were either stopped by Paulos Ssali or wasted. Eventually, the third goal would come, when Epiphanios Ssemwanga
[2] lost a ball to Juanito inside the area. Ssali palmed it away, but Eugenio Leal caught the rebound and settled the score.
Four days later, Hungary faced Castille. The first half turned out to be particularly busy, although no goals were scored. Meszáros saved shots from Santillana and Quini, while Várady hit the crossbar and Migueli cleared a shot by Nyilasi on the goal line. The goals would have to wait until the second half, when László Pusztai opened the score with a shot from outside of the area, but ten minutes later, Juanito caught a loose ball inside the area and equalized for Castille.
Meanwhile, Brazil faced Uganda and shockingly, started behind in the score, when Philippos Omondi got a through ball on the back of the Brazilian defense and shot from just inside the area. But soon enough, Brazil was dominating the actions and the goals began coming. Dirceu scored the first with a long-range kick to the right of the Ugandan goal, the shot bending so much that it curled back inside the right-hand post. His second was a ground shot fumbled by Ssali, Nelinho hit a long shot from outside the area, and Kirunda conceded the penalty by tugging Roberto’s shirt. Zico, who’d only just come on, made one of his few contributions to the tournament, but it was a cheap shot.
Four days later, Hungary, coming off two ties, faced Uganda at the Breña stadium. Just before the match started, a strong, isolated rain began falling in the city and it would keep going for about half an hour. It wasn't so strong kick-off had to be delayed, but it hampered both teams' playing just the same. Regardless, Hungary was clearly the better team there, but it would only begin truly exerting its superiority once the pitch began drying, and the ball began rolling better. Nyilasi smacked in the first goal from an opening made by Masný, and later, would do so again after a back pass from Bölöni.
Meanwhile, Brazil faced Castille. The rain didn’t help Brazil’s passing game either, and Castille really should have won. Santillana, marvellous in the air for a man of medium height, won the ball in a challenge with Leão, only for Cardeñosa to shoot straight at Amaral on the line. The latter, a purely defensive sweeper, was Brazil’s best player, but that wasn’t saying too much. They played a fullback, Toninho, on the wing in place of the disappointing Gil.
Group 4
Austria opened the altitude group - the one where both venues sat at over 3,000 meters above sea level - with a match against Aragon, and opened the match with a spectacular goal, Schachner running up the right wing, swerving outside his man and beating Mora high at his near post. Rexach equalised with a low shot that Koncilia should have saved, but the dangerous Krankl was quick to sidefoot in a rebound. Austria also hit a post.
The next day, Poland faced Charcas. the latter's performance on the South American championship hadn't given exactly a good impression. However, they had the altitude and the crowd on their side. But that wasn't enough. Poland had to work harder than they would have in 1974, needing two tremendous long shots from Deyna and the new young star Boniek, but the Charquean defense was still displaying the same fragility it had shown in the continental tournament. The attack was a little stronger, but save from Aguilar converting Carlos Aragonés' cross, it couldn't do much.
Three days later, Austria faced Charcas. the Charquean manager, Wilfredo Camacho, had promoted two changes to the defense (Tarritolay and Villalón for Edwin Espinosa and Edgar Vaca), and the defensive performance of the team improved considerably, but the attack's production also fell thanks to the defensive scheme that was tried that match. Even when Messa came on, Charcas offered little up front and were again grateful to Galarza, who saved everything Krankl threw at him except the penalty, awarded when he was brought down by Angulo. Austria, unexpectedly, were already in the second round, while Charcas, even as close to home as it could, needed a miracle to advance.
The next day, Poland and Aragon played at Puno, only about a hundred meters shy of 4,000 meters above sea level, a record altitude for a World Cup match. The match only showed that Poland had clearly declined in comparison to 1974. Lubánski at last played in the World Cup finals but was past his best. the offensiveimpetus that day was mostly with Aragon, with Rexach and López Ufarte being particularly dangerous, but the Polish defense was competent enough to keep the Aragonese from getting too close, and the match ended on a 0x0.
Three days later, Charcas went to Puno to play against Aragon. Puno being only 150 kilometers away from the Charquean border, the Enrique Torres stadium was packed to capacity. the Aragonese needed a win to qualify, while Charcas had to win by at least four goals' difference to have a chance. But despite struggling with the altitude, the Aragonese still managed to imperil the Charquean goal enough times that the Verde couldn't get too loose, and were forced to stay on the same defensive scheme of the previous match. Aragonés provided some leadership in midfield scored the only goal, cracking in Messa’s long cross when Olmo left him badly unmarked. But that wasn't enough.
Meanwhile, Poland went back to Cusco to play for first place against Austria. Poland started on the attack in the first minutes, but not only couldn't convert their chances, but also saw Austria score the first two times they got close: first, Oblak ran into a pass by Prohaska and chipped the ball over Tomaszewski top open the score, and then Krankl headed in a cross by Oblak to score the second. The match remained on the same pace: Poland shooting from just about anywhere they could and not taking much danger, while Austria's attacks were almost always dangerous. Still, Poland's persistence paid off somewhat when Kmiecik caught the rebound from a Deyna shot that Koncilia couldn't hold, but that was it, and Austria qualified in first place.
Group 5
Burgundy opened the group playing against Iran. As expected, Burgundy weren’t as good as in 1974. the unfancied Iranian side battled hard to go farther this time, and more than once discomfited the ponderous looking Burgundian defence, and opened the score on a early break by Hossein Faraki. More often, though, they simply retreated into their half of the field, stuck rigidly to their 4-4-2 defensive formation, and invited Burgundy to come at them. Although often embarrassed by the Dutch aerial supremacy, they looked quite comfortable defending on the ground, but that at the cost of giving away multiple free kicks and penalties. A little before half-time, Van Moer was fouled for one and Cruyff sent the keeper the wrong way to equalize. He'd do so again on his next penalty kick, and between them, headed in a cross from the right by Van der Elst.
Meanwhile, at Huancayo, about 700 meters lower than Puno, Portugal faced Uruguay. The South American Championship had studiously avoided scheduling matches on the higher venues, not only because they weren't even ready yet, but also to spare the semifinalists the shock of having to go down over 3000 meters to play the semifinal in such short notice. Thus, Uruguay was about as prepared to this scenario as Portugal was. In any case, the Celeste opened the score when Alzamendi put in the rebound from Morena's shot. Portugal betted mostly on their two centerforwards, Rui Jordão and Nené, but by themselves they could make little headway against Pereyra and Olivera, and this situation remained all through the first half. Then, in half-time, Fernando Chalana was brought in for José Costa's place, and soon enough, Portugal would find the road to the goals - through-balls to Chalana, on the back of Alfredo de los Santos, and crosses to the area.the first and the third goal came when Rui Jordão headed in Chalana's crosses, and the second off a free kick by Fernando Gomes, itself given when De los Santos fouled Chalana on one of these runs.
Four days later, Portugal faced Iran, still at Huancayo. This time, Portugal started on the same formation that had given them the victory over Uruguay, but Iran was tougher than expected. Still, the Quinas came into half-time with the lead, thanks to a own goal produced just before the break, when Eskandarian stuck out a leg after a collision with Rui Jordão. Coming when it did, that should have deflated Iran, but they were well worth their draw, Danaeifard holding off Artur Correia and beating Bento with a low shot at the near post.
Meanwhile, Uruguay went down to Huánuco, 1400 meters down, to face Burgundy, on a reprise of their 1974 match, and that match wouldn't be as much of a breeze as their previous one was - the new Uruguayan side was worse on a individual level than the 1974 side, but had a greater offensive vein, and was no less determined. Alzamendi headed against the bar, Morena had a goal disallowed, and Maneiro might have had a penalty, but Burgundy got one instead when Di Bartolomeo fouled Rep. Rensenbrink converted it and there was less than an hour left. But Uruguayan heart kicked in again, and Santelli hit a high cross to the far post, where Morena headed down to the unmarked Maneiro who volleyed nervelessly past Pfaff's arms and legs, and later would be bundled over by Willy van de Kerkhof for a penalty. Two goals a minute either side of the interval set up a momentum which was only broken by one of the best goals in any World Cup. Picking up a loose ball on the right of the Uruguayan penalty area, Van der Elst came inside Unanue’s lunge, beat Pereyra the outside, pushed the ball between Di Bartolomeo’s legs, and lifted it over the advancing keeper. Now the momentum was with the Burgundians, and three minutes later, running through the middle, Cruyff hit a long-range shot that faded past Rodríguez's right hand, and then there was no way back for Uruguay.
Four days later, Burgundy faced Portugal for the first place, back at Cajamarca. The Burgundians were happy to play out a goalless draw, having the advantage of the tie, using the defensive veteran Cools in place of Rep. It seemed to be working, until Fernando Gomes opened the score, when António Oliveira had crossed from the right and Rui Jordão headed down to set up the chance. But Burgundy equalized within seven minutes, when Rensenbrink headed in a cross from Van Moer, and Burgundy held out in the second half to secure the first place.
Meanwhile, Uruguay faced Iran, both teams needing to win to have a chance of qualifying, and ant hopes that Iran might finally get through were extinguished very early, Carrasco heading in Pizzani's corner from twelve meters . After that the Iranians fell into their habit of conceding penalties, the first harshly awarded for a shoulder charge on Ocampo, the other when Hejazi brought down Morena. Rowshan scored with a low volley, and Faraki scored another for Iran midway through the second half, but Uruguay still came home with the win, but two goals short of the second round.
Group 6
In the first match of the group, Tunisia went to the top of their group, after a shocking and thoroughly deserved win over Mexico. Even a dubious penalty, awarded at a critical time for handball by Jebali, didn’t faze them. Tarak looked one of the most skilful players in the tournament, and the defenders came up cleverly in attack. Kaabi was given room to hammer the equaliser just inside a post, Ghommidh was unmarked when he scored from a tight angle on the left, and Dhouib also had acres of space when he cut in from the right and scored from close range. Tunisia had exploited Mexico’s lack of fitness in the second half, after the first had been played at high speed.
Meanwhile at Arequipa, despite the reputation of both teams, Germany and Italy put on an unappealing match. Germany had declined since 1974, while Italy had seen its improvements only in the defense and the midfield - the attack remained almost as weak as the one that had cost them their 1976 European championship berth, the only light at the end of that tunnel being Paolo Rossi, then blowing up at Vicenza. He was responsible for the few chances the Italians had, but none of them went in, and Germany wasn't much better on their end, and the nets remained still until the end.
Four days later, Italy faced Mexico at Arequipa. This time Mexico seemed to have improved, although Cuéllar was again more visible than the two players from whom much had been expected, Rangel and the 19-year-old Hugo Sánchez. Nevertheless, it was Rangel who opened the score, stabbing the ball home when a flick from Ortega caught the defence square, but Rossi equalised after winning the ball from Antognoni’s long high cross. The match remained balanced on the second half, but Italy came away with the win after Pulici kicked in a rebound from Rossi eleven minutes from the end.
Meanwhile, at Tacna, Germany faced Tunisia, and would have won but for some fine saves by Naili (playing in place of the veteran Attouga), especially when Fischer was clean through in the second half, but Tunisia deserved the draw, and became the first African team to advance out of the group stage since Algeria.
Three days later, at Tacna, Italy played Tunisia for the first place. Tunisia, showing that their previous results were no fluke, raised their game and were often the better team, Lahzami hitting the bar, and putting Scirea to the test, but a blunder at the other end decided it, Kaabi missing his kick as the ball dropped over him, Rossi volleying in.
Meanwhile, at Arequipa, Mexico still had some remote chances to qualify, but after a few good early chances, they began to fall apart - after bungling a free kick outside the German penalty area, they allowed Rummenigge to run unchallenged into their own before scoring. Streich scored with a ground shot, Häfner with a cross shot, Rummenigge again from a pull-back, Flohe twice from long range as well as hitting both posts with another shot. Some of the running and shooting was irresistible, but Mexico made the midfield a tackle-free zone and were no sort of parameter.
And thus, the knockout matches were defined:
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[1] - Nickname for the Papal States team - literally "the Yellow-Whites", colors of their uniform.
[2] - While never colonized by any nation, the area of Uganda was often visited by Nubian missionaries during the 18th and 19th century and as of 1978, most of its population is Coptic Orthodox.
Let me know your predictions and stay tuned for Part 73!
