Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room wrote his name into World Cup history by making 15 saves to earn the tiny Caribbean nation their first ever point at the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador.
Room, 37, broke the record for the most saves in a 90-minute World Cup match since records began in 1966. Only the USA’s Tim Howard has made more stops in a World Cup game, with 16 in an extra-time defeat to Belgium in 2014.
Curacao is home to just 156,000 people, making them the smallest country to compete at the World Cup, and Room is the latest veteran goalkeeper to make his mark at the tournament following the performance of Cape Verde’s Vozinha in the 0-0 draw against Spain.
“I think I need a statue in Curacao now,” Room said. His Instagram is also set to explode, with the goalkeeper gaining more than 600,000 new followers in the hours after his performance. “For me as a goalkeeper, this is almost a perfect game,” he added.
Born in the Netherlands, near the German border, Room spent the majority of his career in Dutch football. He made his debut for Curacao in 2015, after being convinced to join the team by Patrick Kluivert, the former Netherlands international who was in charge of Curacao at the time. Room was eligible to play for Curacao through his father.