# 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American Zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification.
A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 3.5 places (out of 16) in the final tournament. Argentina, the hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 2.5 spots open for competition between 9 teams.

## Format

There would be two rounds of play:
* First Round: The 9 teams were divided into 3 groups of 3 teams each. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.
* Final Round: The 3 teams would play against each other once in a neutral venue. The group winner and runner-up would qualify. The third-placed team would advance to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

## First round
### Group 1

| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Brazil | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 |
| 2 | Paraguay | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | Colombia | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 |
Brazil advanced to the Final Round.

### Group 2

| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Bolivia | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 |
| 2 | Uruguay | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| 3 | Venezuela | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 |
Bolivia advanced to the Final Round.

### Group 3

| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Peru | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 |
| 2 | Chile | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| 3 | Ecuador | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 |
Peru advanced to the Final Round.

## Final round

| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Brazil | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 |
| 2 | Peru | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
| 3 | Bolivia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | −13 |
Brazil and Peru qualified. Bolivia advanced to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.

## Inter-confederation play-offs

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Hungary | 9–2 | Bolivia | 6–0 | 3–2 |

## Qualified teams

The following three teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup |
| Argentina | Hosts | 6 July 1966 | 6 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974) |
| Brazil | Final Round winners | 14 July 1977 | 10 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974) |
| Peru | Final Round winners | 17 July 1977 | 2 (1930, 1970) |
    $^1$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

## Goalscorers
### 5 goals

* Zico

### 4 goals

* Roberto Dinamite
* Juan Carlos Oblitas

### 3 goals

* Miguel Aguilar
* Carlos Aragonés
* Porfirio Jiménez
* José Velásquez

### 2 goals

* Gilberto Alves
* Marinho Chagas
* Elías Figueroa
* Carlos Jara Saguier
* Teófilo Cubillas
* Dario Pereyra
* Nitder Pizzani

### 1 goal

* Oviedo Mezza
* Toninho Cerezo
* Marcelo Oliveira
* Rivellino
* Sergio Ahumada
* Osvaldo Castro
* Miguel Ángel Gamboa
* Eduardo Vilarete
* José Fabián Paz y Miño
* Carlos José Báez
* Alejandro Luces
* Juan José Muñante
* Percy Rojas
* Hugo Sotil
* Washington Oliveira
* Vicente Flores
* Rafael Iriarte

### 1 own goal

* Windsor del Llano (playing against Hungary)
* José Domingo Insfrán (playing against Brazil)