In Group 5 of the 1978 World Cup qualifiers the Irish team was drawn in a small group with just France and Bulgaria. John Giles was the Republic of Ireland manager for this qualification campaign. Johnny Giles also played in midfield in all of the qualification matches. Ireland got off to a poor start losing 2-0 to the French in Paris. Ireland reversed this result through a Liam Brady goal in the return match at Lansdowne Road (now the Aviva Stadium). An away loss to Bulgaria and then a 0-0 draw in Dublin ended a disappointing campaign and saw Ireland finish last in the three team group. Yet another World Cup qualification campaign had come to nought.
John Giles used 16 different Irish players in four matches during qualifiers. The following players appeared for the Republic of Ireland during the 1978 World Cup qualification campaign matches.
The following players scored goals for the Republic of Ireland during the 1978 World Cup qualification campaign matches.