Curaçao, the smallest country in World Cup history, has achieved its first ever point in World Cup, after a 0-0 draw to Ecuador that could have ended much differently had it not been for one man: Eloy Room. The 37-year-old goalkeeper, oldest player in the squad, made 15 saves against Ecuador to keep the clean sheet and give his country their first ever World Cup point.
In fact, Room made a record-breaking performance: 15 saves is the most ever recorded by a goalkeeper during a single, 90-minute World Cup match. The previous record for a World Cup match was set by Tim Howard: 16 saves according to FIFA (15 according to Opta) for United States against Belgium in World Cup 2014 round of 16 match against Belgium that went to extra time. Eventually, Howard conceded 2 goals in extra time, but he still earned immense praise and even a call from Barack Obama, calling him "Secretary of Defense".
Jokingly, Room said that he needs "a statue in Curaçao" and that Tim Howard "was sweating at home looking at the game".
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Room, born in the Netherlands , spent most of his career at the Eredivisie, mainly at Vitesse and PSV, and then joined the MLS in 2019, winning the MLS Cup in 2020 with Columbus Crew. He currently plays for Miami FC in the USL Championship, second tier in North America. Internationally, he once represented Netherlands U-21, but joined the Curaçao national team in 2015, where his father was born.
Curaçao remain fourth at Group E, and could qualify for the next round as group runner-ups if they beat Ivory Coast on Thursday and hope that Germany beats Ecuador.