Curaçao’s Elroy Room produced the performance of the night at the World Cup, carrying the tiny Caribbean nation to its first-ever point in the tournament with an extraordinary 0-0 draw against Ecuador in Kansas City. The 37-year-old goalkeeper, previously little known to most fans, stopped a point-blank effort from Enner Valencia in the second minute and kept repelling everything that came his way for the rest of the match.
Room finished the 90 minutes with 15 saves, the most ever in a World Cup match without extra time. The overall World Cup record, including extra time, remains Tim Howard’s 16 saves for the United States against Belgium in 2014. After the game, Room said, “During the match I did not know I was close to the record, but now I am a bit disappointed I did not beat Howard.” Ecuador had humiliated Curaçao 7-0 in the previous round, making the turnaround even more dramatic.
International media were astonished by the display. One reaction asked how a keeper who had just conceded seven could suddenly look “like Manuel Neuer at his peak.” Room has spent most of his career in the Netherlands, including with Vitesse, and has also played for PSV Eindhoven and Columbus Crew. He now plays for Miami FC in the United States second division.
The performance turned Room into a social-media sensation overnight, pushing his Instagram following past 500,000 from about 100,000 by the end of the match. He joined Cape Verde’s Vozinha as another surprise goalkeeper who became a viral star after an historic draw earlier in the tournament. Former Mexico striker and Fox Sports analyst Javier Hernandez said, “He deserves all the spotlight in the world, it was a legendary performance.”
The match also drew royal attention because Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were in the stands and later went into the Curaçao locker room to congratulate the team. Room said they “just jumped with us in the locker room,” adding that “the queen even gave me a kiss.”
Room was born in the Netherlands, played once for the Dutch Under-20 team, and switched allegiance after a 2015 call from then-Curaçao coach Patrick Kluivert, who offered him the chance to represent the island because of his father’s roots. The draw keeps Curaçao’s hopes alive before its final group match against Ivory Coast.
