The tournament gathered the national teams of Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, Brazil, and Argentina,[6] five of the six World Cup-winning nations at the time, with the addition of the Netherlands –1974 and 1978 World Cup runners-up– who had been invited to replace England, who declined the invitation due to an already crowded fixture list. The World Champions' Gold Cup was held in the middle of the European football season (December/January) and the English league (as well as its clubs) were reluctant to release their players for a long journey to another continent.
The six teams were distributed in two groups of three: Group A was composed of the Netherlands, Italy, and Uruguay; Group B consisted of Argentina, Brazil, and West Germany. The winners of each group faced each other to decide the tournament winner.
Squads
Further information:
1980 Mundialito squads
Each team had a squad of 18 players (two of which had to be goalkeepers).
Outcome
Uruguay and Brazil won their respective groups and played the final, with Uruguay defeating Brazil 2–1 with a late goal, the same result that had occurred 30 years earlier between the two teams in the deciding match of the 1950 World Cup. Uruguay's coach during the Mundialito, Roque Máspoli, had also been Uruguay's goalkeeper in the 1950 match.