Keeper Room shines as Curaçao hold Ecuador for first World Cup point

Goalkeeper Eloy Room had a glistering performance as Curaçao held Ecuador to a goalless draw on Saturday to claim their first-ever World Cup point in a thrilling match.

Room became a national hero for the smallest nation at the tournament as Curaçao celebrated as if they had won the trophy.

“I’m so proud. We have come from nothing and they fought like lions. It will be a big party on the island tonight and they deserve it,” Curaçao coach Dick Advocaat said.

The match crowned Germany Group E winners after they made it to the knock-out stage with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast earlier.

Curaçao, Ecuador and Ivory Coast can still reach the round of 32 with one game to spare in the group stage. Ecuador will face Germany on June 25 while Curaçao take on Ivory Coast.

Room hinted at what he was about to do when he denied Enner Valencia in the second minute.

But the match heated up around the hour mark and from then on both sides had plenty of chances to score, but the goalkeepers had stunning performances to keep the ball out.

The second-half rush started with a wild sequence in the Curaçao box in the 59th minute. Gonzalo Plata headed a corner towards the goal but Room made a big save, that deflected of his defender’s head but was eventually out of play.

Immediately after, Ecuador keeper Hernan Galindez was forced into three big saves as Curaçao hit back. He managed to deny Leandro Bacuna, Livano Comenencia and Jürgen Locadia in a matter of a few seconds.

Room made another excellent save to deny Enner Valencia in the 65th and then made a few other brilliant stops as the ball remained alive inside the box after a corner.

Juninho Bacuna fired a shot towards the goal in the 75th and Galindez managed to block it with his arm.

Valencia had a huge miss in the 84th as he found a window to shoot but somehow sent his effort wide of the near post.

Valencia went down in the box after a challenge and Ecuador hoped they could snatch a last-gasp penalty but that was denied after video review.

“There are things you cannot explain in football. We had 27 shots on goal but we couldn’t score. It’s normal to feel this pain but we still have a chance to put things right,” Ecuador coach Sebastián Beccacece said.

With 15 saves, Room was one shy of equalling former US goalkeeper Tim Howard‘s record of most saves in one World Cup match.

“I still have to process it myself. I’m a bit annoyed that I didn’t get the record in the end but I think Tim Howard was sweating on it a bit,” Room said.