1978 FIFA World Cup in the context of "1978 FIFA World Cup final"

The Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Argentina), nicknamed la Albiceleste (lit. 'the White and Sky Blue'), represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (lit. 'Argentine Football Association'), the governing body of football in Argentina. It has been a member of FIFA since 1912 and a founding member of CONMEBOL since 1916. It was also a member of PFC, the unified confederation of the Americas from 1946 to 1961.

They are the reigning world champions, having won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2022, earning their third star shown by the team's crest. Overall, Argentina has appeared in a FIFA World Cup final six times, a record equaled by Italy and surpassed only by Brazil and Germany. Argentina played in the inaugural World Cup final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. The following final appearance came 48 years later, in 1978, when the team captained by Daniel Passarella defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in extra time, becoming world champions for the first time. Captained by Diego Maradona, Argentina won their second World Cup eight years later, in 1986, with a 3–2 final victory over West Germany. They reached the final once more under the guidance of Maradona, in 1990, but were ultimately beaten 1–0 by West Germany. A few decades later, Argentina, captained by Lionel Messi made their fifth final appearance in 2014, losing to Germany 1–0 after extra time. In 2022, again captained by Messi, they were crowned world champions for the third time, the fourth-most of any country, beating France 4–2 on penalties, following a 3–3 draw after extra time. The team's World Cup–winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and Lionel Scaloni in 2022. In addition, Argentina has also been very successful in the Copa América, with a record 16 titles, most recently winning the 2024 edition. They are also the only nation to have won the Copa América three consecutive times: they did it in 1945, 1946 and 1947. Furthermore, Argentina won the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992 and is the most successful team in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, having won it twice, in 1993 and 2022. The national team also won the Panamerican Championship in 1960. In total, with 23 official titles won as of 2025, Argentina holds the record in senior official titles won.

The Italy national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in men's international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence.

Italy is one of the most successful national teams in international competitions, having won four World Cup titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), reaching two more finals (1970, 1994), and finishing third place in 1990 and fourth in 1978. Italy also won two European Championships (1968, 2020), and appeared in two other finals of the tournament (2000, 2012). Italy's team also finished as runners-up in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions in 2022, and in third place at both the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and at the UEFA Nations League in 2021 and 2023.

A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in an urban setting, characterized by large amounts of shredded paper thrown onto the parade route from the surrounding buildings, creating a celebratory flurry of paper. Originally, actual ticker tape was used; however, now it is commonly substituted with confetti.

The concept originates in and is most usually associated with the United States, especially New York City. Outside the United States, ticker-tape parades are often associated with the 1978 FIFA World Cup held in Argentina.

Johannes Jacobus Neeskens (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjoːɦɑ ˈneːskəns]; 15 September 1951 – 6 October 2024) was a Dutch football manager and player. A midfielder, he was an important member of the Netherlands national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and is considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time. In 2004, he was named one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony, while in 2017 he was included in the FourFourTwo list of the 100 all-time greatest players, at the 64th position.

After his retirement in 1991, Neeskens was assistant manager to Guus Hiddink with the Dutch and Australian national teams, and to Frank Rijkaard for the Netherlands, Barcelona and Galatasaray. He was also head coach of NEC Nijmegen, the Netherlands B national team, and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Daniel Alberto Passarella (born 25 May 1953) is an Argentine former footballer and manager, who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all time. As a player for Argentina, he was part of two FIFA World Cup-winning teams; he captained his nation to victory at the 1978 World Cup which Argentina hosted, and was also part of the winning squad in 1986.

Although playing as a centre-back, Passarella was also a proficient goalscorer; at one point, he was football's highest-scoring defender, with 134 goals in 451 matches, a record which was subsequently broken by Dutch player Ronald Koeman. In 2004, Passarella was named one of the 125 greatest living footballers by Pelé at a FIFA awards ceremony. In 2007, The Times placed him at 36th in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history, recalling that he "tackled with the ferocity of the wild bull of the Pampas". In 2017, he was named as the 56th best player by FourFourTwo in their list of the 100 all-time greatest footballers. As a manager, he coached the Argentina and Uruguay national teams, among several club sides.

César Luis Menotti (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsesaɾ ˈlwis meˈnoti]; 22 October 1938 – 5 May 2024), known as El Flaco ("Slim"), was an Argentine football player and manager who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as the head coach of the Argentina national team.

Menotti played as a striker, most notably for Argentine clubs Rosario Central and Boca Juniors. As a manager, he won three cups with Barcelona and also led Atlético Madrid in La Liga in the 1980s, as well as leading Superclásico rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. He was briefly the manager of Mexico and Italian Serie A club Sampdoria in the 1990s.

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so, and resigned in November 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previously hosting the 1970 edition.

The World Cup was won by Argentina (their second title, after winning in 1978). Argentina was captained by the 25-year-old Diego Maradona, who played a large part in his team's success by scoring his "Hand of God" goal, as well as another voted the "Goal of the Century", in the same quarter-final against England. These were two of the five goals that Maradona scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for his teammates. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Argentina would not win the World Cup again until 2022, 36 years later. Total attendance was 2,394,031, an average per match of 46,039. Canada, Denmark and Iraq made their first appearances at the final stage.

Football (Italian: calcio [ˈkaltʃo] ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only Brazil (with five), runners-up in two finals both against Brazil, (1970, 1994) and reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). They have also won two European Championships (1968 and 2020), also appeared in two finals (2000, 2012), finished third at the Confederations Cup (2013) and the Nations League (2021 and 2023), won one Olympic football tournament (1936) and two Central European International Cups (1927–30 and 1933–35).

Italy's top domestic league, the Serie A, is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world because it is often depicted as the most tactical national football league, and is among the top five European football leagues. Italy's club sides have won 48 major European trophies, making them the second most successful nation in European football. Serie A hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as Juventus, Milan, and Inter, all founding members of the G-14, a group which represented the largest and most prestigious European football clubs; Serie A was the only league to produce three founding members.