group a of the 1978 fifa world cup was one of two groups of nations competing for the de facto semifinals the 1978 fifa world cup. the group's first round of matches began on 14 june and its last matches were played on 21 june. all six group matches were played either at the estadio chateau carreras in córdoba, or the estadio monumental in the capital buenos aires. the group consisted of west germany (the defending champions) as well as the netherlands (the former runners up), italy and austria. the netherlands advanced to the final match, and italy advanced to the third place match.