| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | New Zealand |
| Dates | 11–16 November |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Australia (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Fiji |
| Third place |  New Zealand |
| Fourth place |  Papua New Guinea |
The 1978 OFC U-20 Championship was a soccer tournament held in New Zealand. As in common with other biennial OFC U-20 Championships it also served as a qualification for an intercontinental play-off. In this case the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.
The following teams entered the tournament:
Australia Fiji New Zealand (host) Papua New GuineaIt is unclear why Fiji finished second in this group, with a lesser goal difference than New Zealand.
| Teams | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | +14 | 6 |
| Fiji
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| New Zealand
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 3 |
| Papua New Guinea
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | –17 | 0 |
| 11 November | Australia
|
9–0 | Papua New Guinea
|
| Fiji
|
1–1 | New Zealand
| |
| 14 November | New Zealand
|
4–0 | Papua New Guinea
|
| Australia
|
5–1 | Fiji
| |
| 16 November | Fiji
|
4–0 | Papua New Guinea
|
| New Zealand
|
1–2 | Australia
|
| 1978 OFC U-20 Championship |
|---|
 Australia First title |
Australia failed to qualify for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. They finished last in an intercontinental play-off group with Paraguay and Israel. Matches were played in Asunción, Paraguay.
| Teams | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Paraguay
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 8 |
 Israel
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | –4 | 2 |
| Australia
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | –5 | 2 |
| 7 February | Paraguay
|
2–0 | Australia
|
| 9 February | Israel
|
0–0 | Australia
|
| 11 February | Paraguay
|
3–0 | Israel
|
| 14 February | Australia
|
0–0 | Israel
|
| 16 February | Paraguay
|
3–0 | Australia
|
| 18 February | Paraguay
|
2–1 | Israel
|