| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Malaysia |
| Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Korea (1st title) |
| Runners-up | .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Iraq_(1963%E2%80%931991).svg.png){kind=small} Iraq |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 28 |
← 1977 1979 → | |
The 1978 Merdeka Tournament was held in Malaysia from 12 to 29 July. South Korea won the tournament for the fifth time, beating Iraq in the final.[1][2]
Matches
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea
|
7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | +17 | 14 | Final |
| 2 | Iraq
|
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 11 | |
| 3 |  Malaysia
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 8 | +12 | 10 | |
| 4 |  Thailand
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 6 | |
| 5 |  Japan
|
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 5 | |
| 6 |  Singapore
|
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 5 | |
| 7 |  Indonesia
|
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 5 | |
| 8 | .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Syria_(1972%E2%80%931980).svg.png){kind=small} Syria
|
7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 | −13 | 0 |
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
| Malaysia | 1–3 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
.svg/1280px-Flag_of_Syria_(2025-).svg.png){kind=small}
| South Korea | 3–0 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| South Korea | 2–0 | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| South Korea | 4–0 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
 25' 45' 75' 85' |
Report |
| South Korea | 2–0 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| South Korea | 2–0 | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Syria | 0–2 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Final
| South Korea | 2–0 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
References
- ^ "Merdeka Tournament 1978". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ "Merdeka%20Tournament 1978".