Eloy Room, Curaçao’s 15-save World Cup hero against Ecuador | OneFootball

Eloy Room, 37, made 15 saves in a 0-0 draw with Ecuador, the most in 90 minutes at a World Cup, earning Curaçao their first point.

In the third minute Enner Valencia went through on goal, Room blocked and set the tone. L'Équipe notes Curaçao are the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup.

Ecuador monopolised the ball and produced 27 attempts, 15 on target, yet Room repelled everything. Only Tim Howard has made more saves at a finals match, 16 against Belgium in 2014 after extra time.

Room has represented Curaçao since 2015 through his father, and is second on their caps list with 72. A clean sheet against Jamaica in November sealed a first World Cup.

After qualification, he said the scale of it did not truly sink in at the time. On Saturday, named player of the match, he described being overwhelmed by events and emotion.

The draw keeps alive hopes of a last 32 berth against Côte d'Ivoire.

His profile exploded, Instagram surging from 112,000 before kick-off to beyond 700,000 within hours, while his name trended on X. The rise echoed Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha’s recent burst into prominence.

Vitesse Arnhem is the thread through his career, arriving at 13, debuting at 20 and playing 189 games, then lifting the 2017 Dutch Cup. He later won the 2018 title with PSV and the 2020 MLS Cup with Columbus Crew, and now plays for Miami FC.

Source: L'Équipe