The 2026 FIFA World Cup, part of which will take place in Mexico, has been overshadowed by events in the Middle East, particularly concerning Iranian participation. This is not the first time Mexico has hosted World Cup games between nations at war. In 1969, Mexico was hosting the World Cup for Mexico, which was a dominant regional soccer power in Latin America, when a Central American nation, El Salvador, was drawn in to play against Honduras, leading to a military conflict known as "The Football War". The conflict, which lasted 100 hours, was an intense conflict, with fatality estimates ranging from 3,000 to 6,000. The conflict was largely due to long-standing boundary disputes and tension in Honduras over the thousands of El Salvadorans who had migrated there to find work. The following year, after El Salvador won the match 3-2, Honduras broke diplomatic ties with Honduras in protest against the Honduran government's failure to protect Salvadoran citizens.