1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)
Tournament details
Teams	21 (from 2 confederations)
	← 1974 1982 →

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian and Oceanian zone (AFC and OFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification.

A total of 21 AFC and OFC teams and Israel^[1] entered the competition. However, South Vietnam could not compete after being annexed by Vietnam. The Asian zone was allocated 1 place (out of 16) in the final tournament.

There would be two rounds of play:

First Round: The 21 teams would be divided into 5 groups. The groups had different rules, as follows:
- Group 1 had 6 teams. The teams played against each other once in Singapore. The top 2 teams after the group matches played against each other in a single match. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
- Groups 2 and 3 had 4 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
- Group 4 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other twice in Qatar. The group winner would qualify.
- Group 5 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
Final Round: The 5 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.

First round

Group 1

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Hong Kong	6	4	2	2	0	9	5	+4
2	Singapore	5	4	2	1	1	5	6	−1
3	Malaysia	4	4	1	2	1	7	6	+1
4	Indonesia	3	4	1	1	2	7	7	0
5	Thailand	2	4	1	0	3	8	12	−4
—	Sri Lanka	withdrew

27 February 1977	Singapore	2–0	Thailand	National Stadium, Singapore
	Quah Kim Song 48' Rajagopal 70'			Attendance: 55.000 Referee: Boskovic (Australia)

28 February 1977	Hong Kong	4–1	Indonesia	Singapore
	Chung Chor Wai 61' (pen) Wun Chee Keung 67' Kwok Ka Ming 71' Lau Wing Yip 83'		Waskito Kaihun 12'	Referee: Namdar (Iran)

1 March 1977	Malaysia	6–4	Thailand	Singapore
	James 15', 38', 51', 60' Isa Bakar 17', 19'		Na phatalung 24', 67' Laohakul 86' Srisawat 88'	Referee: Vaz (India)

2 March 1977	Singapore	2–2	Hong Kong	Singapore
	Quah Kim Song 37' Dollah Kassim 70'		Wun Chee Keung 19', 51'	Referee: Harries (New Zealand)

3 March 1977	Indonesia	0–0	Malaysia	Singapore
				Referee: Asami (Japan)

5 March 1977	Hong Kong	2–1	Thailand	Singapore
	Kwok Ka Ming 49' Chung Chor Wai 81'		Laohakul 55'	Referee: Kim Joo-Won (Korea Republic)

6 March 1977	Singapore	1–0	Malaysia	Singapore
	Mohammad Noh Hussein 31' (pen)			Referee: Asami (Japan)

7 March 1977	Thailand	3–2	Indonesia	Singapore
	Chaiyabutr 27' Na Phatalung 30' (pen) Srisawat 36'		Risdianto 44' Junaedi Abdillah 70'	Referee: Alex Vaz (India)

8 March 1977	Malaysia	1–1	Hong Kong	Singapore
	Bakri Ibni 78'		Fung Chi Ming 15'	Referee: Harries (New Zealand)

9 March 1977	Singapore	0–4	Indonesia	Singapore
			Ronny Pattinasarany 4' Anjas Asmara 13' Andi Lala 26' Iswadi Idris 48'	Referee: Kim Joo-Won (Korea Republic)

Hong Kong and Singapore finished in the top two places, and a play-off was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.

12 March 1977	Singapore	0–1	Hong Kong	Singapore
			Lau Wing Yip 33'	Referee: Boskovic (Australia)

Hong Kong advanced to the Final Round.

Group 2

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	South Korea	6	4	2	2	0	4	1	+3
2	Israel	5	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2
3	Japan	1	4	0	1	3	0	5	−5
—	North Korea	withdrew

27 February 1977	Israel	0–0	South Korea	Tel Aviv, Israel
				Referee: McGinlay (Scotland)

6 March 1977	Israel	2–0	Japan	Tel Aviv, Israel
	Machnes 43' Bar 57'			Referee: Kitabdjian (France)

10 March 1977	Japan	0–2	Israel	Tel Aviv, Israel^[2]
			Machnes 41' Peretz 54'	Referee: Verbeke (France)

20 March 1977	South Korea	3–1	Israel	Seoul, Korea Republic
	Cha Bum-Kun 23' Park Sang-In 86' Choi Jong-Duk 88'		Malmilian 76'

26 March 1977	Japan	0–0	South Korea	Tokyo, Japan
				Referee: Kathiravalc (Malaysia)

3 April 1977	South Korea	1–0	Japan	Seoul, Korea Republic
	Cha Bum-Kun 84' (pen)			Referee: Zainal Abidin (Malaysia)

Korea Republic advanced to the Final Round.

Group 3

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Iran	8	4	4	0	0	8	0	+8
2	Saudi Arabia	2	4	1	0	3	3	7	−4
3	Syria	2	4	1	0	3	2	6	−4
—	Iraq	withdrew

12 November 1976	Saudi Arabia	2–0	Syria	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Al Fahad 22' Bo Saeed 54'			Referee: Dörflinger (Switzerland)

26 November 1976	Syria	2–1	Saudi Arabia	Damascus, Syria
	Al Katbi 36' Khouri 82'		Ghani 44'	Referee: Babacan (Turkey)

7 January 1977	Saudi Arabia	0–3	Iran	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
			Mazloumi 16', 78' Roshan 62'	Referee: Linemayr (Austria)

28 January 1977	Syria	0–1	Iran	Damascus, Syria
		(Report)	Parvin 36'	Stadium: Abbasiyyin Stadium Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Robert Fratz (France)

6 April 1977	Iran	2 – 0 (w/o)	Syria	Shiraz, Iran
			Forfeited

22 April 1977	Iran	2–0	Saudi Arabia	Shiraz, Iran
	Yousifi 10' Shareefi 84'			Referee: Dörflinger (Switzerland)

Iran advanced to the Final Round.

Group 4

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Kuwait	8	4	4	0	0	10	2	+8
2	Bahrain	2	4	1	0	3	4	6	−2
3	Qatar	2	4	1	0	3	3	9	−6
—	United Arab Emirates	withdrew

11 March 1977	Bahrain	0–2	Kuwait	Doha, Qatar
			Kameel 5' Yaqoub 21'	Referee: Partridge (England)

13 March 1977	Qatar	2–0	Bahrain	Doha, Qatar
	Bekhit 40' Al Suwaidi 62'			Referee: Hungerbühler (Switzerland)

15 March 1977	Qatar	0–2	Kuwait	Doha, Qatar
			Yaqoub 28' Al-Anberi 68'	Referee: Ohmsen (West Germany)

17 March 1977	Bahrain	1–2	Kuwait	Doha, Qatar
	Shaqr 73'		Al-Anberi 33' Al Duraihem 56' (pen)	Referee: Lattana (Italy)

19 March 1977	Qatar	0–3	Bahrain	Doha, Qatar
			Shaqr 32' Zowayed 57' Al Farhan 73' (pen)	Referee: Partridge (England)

21 March 1977	Qatar	1–4	Kuwait	Doha, Qatar
	Abubakr 82' (pen)		Yaqoub 10' Ma'yoof 16' Al Saleh 24' Bo Hamad 60'	Referee: Lattanzi (Italy)

Kuwait advanced to the Final Round.

Group 5

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Australia	7	4	3	1	0	9	3	+6
2	New Zealand	5	4	2	1	1	14	4	+10
3	Taiwan	0	4	0	0	4	1	17	−16

13 March 1977	Australia	3–0	Taiwan	Suva, Fiji^[3]
	Rooney 8', 46' Abonyi 16'			Referee: Promakash (Thailand)

16 March 1977	Taiwan	1–2	Australia	Suva, Fiji^[4]
	Chang Kuo Chi 29'		Kosmina 35' Abonyi 58'	Referee: Getkaew (Thailand)

20 March 1977	New Zealand	6–0	Taiwan	Auckland, New Zealand
	Nelson 4', 6', 60' Campbell 16' Taylor 42' Weymouth 74'			Referee: Suppiah (Singapore)

23 March 1977	Taiwan	0–6	New Zealand	Auckland, New Zealand^[5]
			Nelson 10', 74' Sumner 15', 51', 55' Lo Chih Tsong 71' (o.g.)	Referee: Dhillon (Singapore)

27 March 1977	Australia	3–1	New Zealand	Sydney, Australia
	Ollerton 60', 80' Kosmina 72'		Nelson 4'	Referee: Chan Tam Sun (Hong Kong)

30 March 1977	New Zealand	1–1	Australia	Auckland, New Zealand
	Nelson 34'		Ollerton 18'	Referee: Cheung Kwok Kui (Hong Kong)

Australia advanced to the Final Round.

Final round

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Iran	14	8	6	2	0	12	3	+9
2	South Korea	10	8	3	4	1	12	8	+4
3	Kuwait	9	8	4	1	3	13	8	+5
4	Australia	7	8	3	1	4	11	8	+3
5	Hong Kong	0	8	0	0	8	5	26	−21

19 June 1977	Hong Kong	0–2	Iran	Government Stadium, Hong Kong
			Kazerani 22' Jahani 77'	Referee: Gussoni, (Italy)

26 June 1977	Hong Kong	0–1	South Korea	Hong Kong
			Cha Bum-Kun 81'	Referee: Biwersi (West Germany)

3 July 1977	South Korea	0–0	Iran	Busan Gudeok Stadium, Busan, Korea Republic
				Referee: Fute (Scotland)

10 July 1977	Australia	3–0	Hong Kong	Adelaide, Australia
	Kosmina 28', 84' Barnes 46'			Referee: Hungerbühler (Switzerland)

14 August 1977	Australia	0–1	Iran	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
			Roshan 70'	Referee: Wöhrer (Austria)

27 August 1977	Australia	2–1	South Korea	Sydney, Australia
	Kosmina 63', 75'		Cha Bum-Kun 23'	Referee: Keizer (Netherlands)

2 October 1977	Hong Kong	1–3	Kuwait	Hong Kong
	Chung Chor Wai 9'		Al-Dakhil 35' Yaqoub 52' Bo Hamad 72'	Referee: Martinez (Spain)

9 October 1977	South Korea	1–0	Kuwait	Seoul, Korea Republic
	Park Sang-In 59'			Referee: Ciacci (Italy)

16 October 1977	Australia	1–2	Kuwait	Sydney, Australia
	Rooney 83'		Kameel 42' Al-Anberi 49'	Referee: Vautrot (France)

23 October 1977	South Korea	0–0	Australia	Seoul, Korea Republic
				Referee: Eriksson (Sweden)

28 October 1977	Iran	1–0	Kuwait	Aryamehr Stadium, Tehran, Iran
	Jahani 48'			Referee: Thomas (Wales)

30 October 1977	Hong Kong	2–5	Australia	Hong Kong
	Tang Hung Cheong 65' Chung Chor Wai 80'		Ollerton 19', 31', 65' Abonyi 39' (pen) Bennett 85'	Referee: Ponnet (Belgium)

5 November 1977	Kuwait	2–2	South Korea	Kuwait City, Kuwait
	Al-Dakhil 47' Bo Abbas 76'		Cha Bum-Kun 18' Choi Jong-Duk 82'	Referee: Dubach (Switzerland)

11 November 1977	Iran	2–2	South Korea	Aryamehr Stadium, Tehran, Iran
	Roshan 52', 68'		Lee Young-Moo 28', 88'	Referee: Partridge (England)

12 November 1977	Kuwait	4–0	Hong Kong	Kuwait City, Kuwait
	Al-Dakhil 3', 17' Al-Anberi 45' Kameel 80'			Referee: Victor (Luxembourg)

18 November 1977	Iran	3–0	Hong Kong	Aryamehr Stadium, Tehran, Iran
	Jahani 3', 35' Kazerani 19'			Referee: Raus (Yugoslavia)

19 November 1977	Kuwait	1–0	Australia	Kuwait City, Kuwait
	Al-Dakhil 52'			Referee: Bucek (Austria)

25 November 1977	Iran	1–0	Australia	Aryamehr Stadium, Tehran, Iran
	Jahani 44'			Referee: Kitabdjian (France)

3 December 1977	Kuwait	1–2	Iran	Kuwait City, Kuwait
	Al-Dakhil 14'		Fariba 48' Khabiri 59'	Referee: Wright (Northern Ireland)

4 December 1977	South Korea	5–2	Hong Kong	Seoul, Korea Republic
	Kim Ho-Kon 22' Huh Jung-Moo 43' Kim Jae-Han 76', 81', 89'		Kwok Ka Ming 49' Chan Fat Chi 79'	Referee: Aldinger (West Germany)

Iran qualified.

Goalscorers

7 goals

Keith Nelson

6 goals

John Kosmina

Peter Ollerton

Faisal Al-Dakhil

5 goals

4 goals

James Wong

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Lo Chih Tsong (playing against New Zealand)

References

^ Israel left the AFC in 1974
^ Japan played its "home" match against Israel away at Israel.
^ Both matches between Australia and Taiwan were played on neutral ground.
^ Both matches between Australia and Taiwan were played on neutral ground.
^ Taiwan played its "home" match against New Zealand away instead.

[1] Israel left the AFC in 1974

[2] Japan played its "home" match against Israel away at Israel.

[3] Both matches between Australia and Taiwan were played on neutral ground.

[4] Both matches between Australia and Taiwan were played on neutral ground.

[5] Taiwan played its "home" match against New Zealand away instead.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]