Unofficial ranking WORLD CUP-1978 (Argentina)
| # | Team | Conf | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Argentina | CONMEBOL | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 5 000 |
| 2 |  Netherlands | UEFA | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 4 950 |
| 3 |  Brazil | CONMEBOL | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 4 900 |
| 4 |  Italy | UEFA | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4 850 |
| 5 |  Poland | UEFA | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 4 800 |
| 6 |  Germany | UEFA | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 780 |
| 7 |  Austria | UEFA | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 6 | 4 760 |
| 8 |  Peru | CONMEBOL | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 5 | 4 740 |
| 9 |  Tunisia | CAF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 690 |
| 10 |  Spain | UEFA | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 670 |
| 11 |  Scotland | UEFA | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 3 | 4 650 |
| 12 |  France | UEFA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 630 |
| 13 |  Sweden | UEFA | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 | 4 610 |
| 14 |  Iran | AFC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 1 | 4 590 |
| 15 |  Hungary | UEFA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 0 | 4 570 |
| 16 |  Mexico | CONCACAF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | -10 | 0 | 4 550 |