| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7 March 1976 – 11 December 1977 |
| Teams | 107 (from 6 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 252 |
| Goals scored | 723 (2.87 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Roberto Bettega (9 goals) |
A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 20 November 1975 at Guatemala City. Argentina, as the hosts, and West Germany, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
The 16 places would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:
- Europe (UEFA): 9 or 10 places. One place went to automatic qualifier West Germany, while nine places were contested by 31 teams. The team coming ninth in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs against a team from CONMEBOL.
- South America (CONMEBOL): 3 or 4 places. One place automatically went to host nation Argentina, while the other three places were contested by nine teams. The team coming third in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs (against a team from UEFA).
- North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 1 place, contested by 17 teams.
- Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 26 teams.
- Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC): 1 place, contested by 22 teams.
A total of 95 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 252 qualifying matches were played, and 723 goals were scored (an average of 2.87 per match).
