sentences:  The national teams invited were Uruguay (hosts), Italy, West Germany, Brazil, Netherlands, and Argentina, at the time the six former World Cup-winning nations except for the Netherlands – 1974 and 1978 World Cup runners-up – replacing England, who declined the invitation due to an already crowded fixture list.The Mundialito was held in the middle of the European football season (December/January) and the English league (as well as its clubs) were reluctant to release their players for a long journey to another continent.England, the 1966 FIFA World Cup winners, declined to participate.