World Cup 2026: Curacao keeper Room makes a sensational save – and is rewarded afterwards

World Cup outsiders

Keeper makes a sensational save – and is then richly rewarded

Ecuador can’t believe it: Despite 27 shots, they can’t score a goal. There is no getting past Curaçao’s goalkeeper.

Eloy Room has become a hero of Curaçao. The goalkeeper secured his team the World Cup A 0-0 draw against Ecuador and thus the first point ever in the tournament. Room unnerved their opponents from Group E over 90 minutes, thereby preserving Curaçao’s dream of moving into the next round. However, this requires a win in the last preliminary round game against Ivory Coast.

The 37-year-old goalkeeper, who has been under contract with FC Miami since January, made history with his performance: Room blocked 15 shots; since data collection began in 1966, a keeper has never had more saves during regular playing time. “It sounds really nice when you add it all up like that, but I didn’t think about it at all during the game,” said Room: “But of course I knew it was an intense game, with a lot of saves.”

The record in a World Cup game remains with Tim Howard. The USA goalkeeper even recorded 16 saves in the 2014 round of 16 against Belgium (1:2), but thanks to extra time he was only allowed to play for 120 minutes. Room almost equaled this record, but the goalkeeper no longer had to intervene when Ángelo Preciado hit the crossbar (90th minute).

“I’m a little annoyed that I didn’t reach Tim Howard’s record,” said Room: “But I think he was sweating while watching the game because I got pretty close to him. But no, it’s unbelievable.”

In addition to his teammates and coach Dick Advocaat, Room also inspired the football world. Around 4 a.m. German time, around 321,000 people followed him on Instagram. Just half an hour later, the number grew to 634,000 followers. At 6:25 a.m., 733,000 people were already following him. It was the reward for a strong performance on the pitch.

With the huge increase in his number of followers on social media, Room could potentially see significant additional income after the tournament. The more people follow him, the higher the likelihood that he will be offered lucrative advertising contracts.

The increasing popularity is reminiscent of Vozinha, who has recently become better known in the sports world. The Cape Verde goalkeeper, who plays in the Portuguese second division for GD Chavez, became one of the stars of this World Cup overnight thanks to his strong performance in the 0-0 draw against title favorites Spain on the first match day. After the game, pictures went around the worldin which Vozinha cried in the company of his teammates.