It turns out Eloy Room tied a record in Curacao’s stunning 0-0 World Cup draw with Ecuador. The Miami FC keeper who already made history as one of the first United Soccer League players ever to make a World Cup appearance along with his teammate Jurgen Locadia, had a heroic performance, making 15, 16 saves to keep the Blue Wave in the match.FIFA verified to CBS Sports that, because of how they calculate saves, despite facing 15 shots on target, Room was awarded a 16th save for dealing with a deflected cross. The 16th save is particularly important because it means Room ties Tim Howard’s record, originally set when the United States men’s national team faced Belgium in the round of 16 in 2014. Room is the lone leader for a match that didn’t feature extra time; however, since Howard needed 120 minutes to accomplish the feat, which stood as the record from the times saves started getting recorded in 1966. Following the match, Room joked that it’s already time to build a statue on the island. “I think in 40 years I will remember this, it will be insane. I think I need a statue in Curacao now,” Room reported.
Room’s performances were able to keep Curacao alive and with a chance to advance to the round of 32. It’s already a remarkable story that Curacao are the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup with a population of 158,000, but now they could advance if they defeat Ivory Coast on June 25 in Philadelphia.
Ecuador will also now need to defeat Germany, as their World Cup journey has become a perilous one. Facing an island nation who only had one player, Tahith Chong, born there, was expected to be a simple win for La Tri but in a World Cup where Cabo Verde can tie Spain, nothing can be taken for granted.
The Concacaf team has shown that they well and truly deserve to be among the 48-team field, but they won’t be happy with just being here. They scored their first goal in World Cup history against Germany, and now they’ll be in search of their first victory as Dick Advocaat leads a fearless side through the tournament on the back of a heroic performance.
Group E standings
| Place | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Germany |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
+7 |
6 |
|
2 |
Ivory Coast |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
3 |
Ecuador |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
-1 |
1 |
|
4 |
Curacao |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
-6 |
1 |
