Curaçao, the smallest nation to ever participate in a World Cup, has clinched its maiden World Cup point following a goalless draw against Ecuador. The match could have unfolded very differently were it not for the heroics of one individual: Eloy Room. The 37-year-old goalkeeper, the oldest player on the team, made an astonishing 15 saves to keep a clean sheet and secure his nation’s first-ever World Cup point.
Room’s performance was truly record-shattering. With 15 saves, he recorded the highest number of saves by a goalkeeper in a single 90-minute World Cup match. The previous record for a World Cup match was held by Tim Howard, who made 16 saves according to FIFA (15 according to Opta) for the United States against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup round of 16, a match that went into extra time. Howard ultimately conceded two goals in extra time but still garnered immense praise, even receiving a call from Barack Obama, who famously dubbed him the ‘Secretary of Defense’. Joking about his own feat, Room remarked that he needed ‘a statue in Curaçao’ and that Tim Howard was ‘sweating at home watching the game’.
Born in the Netherlands, Room spent most of his career in the Eredivisie, primarily with Vitesse and PSV, before moving to MLS in 2019, where he won the MLS Cup in 2020 with Columbus Crew. He currently plays for Miami FC in the USL Championship, the second tier of North American football. At the international level, he previously represented the Netherlands U-21 team but switched his allegiance to Curaçao in 2015, the island his father hails from. Curaçao remains fourth in Group E and could still advance to the next round as group runners-up if they defeat Ivory Coast on Thursday and Germany beats Ecuador.