In June 1969, Honduras and El Salvador faced off in a qualifying match for the World Cup. The fans in Honduras made sure the visiting Salvadoran team would not be able to sleep the night before the game by setting off firecrackers and honking horns outside their hotel. Not surprisingly, Honduras won 1-0.
Fans in El Salvador were beside themselves. An 18-year-old girl shot herself after Honduras scored the winning goal, and her death was mourned as a national tragedy.
A few weeks later, the Honduran team came to El Salvador for a second match. Salvadoran troops and tanks ringed the field. After El Salvador won 3-0, riots broke out among the fans, and several people were killed.
The game's outcome pushed a century-old border dispute to the boiling point, and war broke out on 14 July. Although the fighting lasted only a hundred hours before a ceasefire was agreed upon, 5,000 people were killed.
一九六九年六月，宏都拉斯和薩爾瓦多在世界盃入圍賽之中對陣。比賽前一晚，宏都拉斯球迷在薩爾瓦多球員下榻的旅館外，放爆竹，按響汽車喇叭，務求他們不能入睡。比賽結果，是宏都拉斯以一比○取勝。這並不奇怪。
薩爾瓦多球迷憤恨如狂。一個十八歲女郎眼看宏都拉斯取得致勝一分之後，開槍自殺。薩爾瓦多舉國哀悼。
幾個星期之後，宏都拉斯球隊到薩爾瓦多覆賽。薩爾瓦多派軍隊、坦克車包圍球場。薩爾瓦多球隊以三比○取勝之後，球迷暴動，死了幾人。
球賽結果，令兩國長達百年的邊界糾紛趨於激烈。七月十四日，戰爭爆發，雖然只打了一百小時就協議停火，但已有五千人喪生。