The 1978 OFC U-20 Championship was a soccer tournament held in New Zealand. As in common with other biennial OFC U-20 Championships it also served as a qualification for an intercontinental play-off. In this case the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.
The following teams entered the tournament:
It is unclear why Fiji finished second in this group, with a lesser goal difference than New Zealand.
Australia failed to qualify for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. They finished last in an inter-continental qualification group with Paraguay and Israel. Matches were played in Asunción, Paraguay.