Goalkeeper who once faced Cong Phuong and Quang Hai sets World Cup record.

Just a few days after losing 1-7 to Germany in their opening match, Curacao scored a historic point. At the World Cup, the CONCACAF representative held Ecuador to a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes of tenacious defense. Their hero was Eloy Room, the 37-year-old goalkeeper born in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and one of the two most capped players for the Curacao national team.

Eloy Room made 15 saves in the match at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, setting a tournament record. No goalkeeper has made more saves than Eloy Room in a World Cup match outside of extra time. Including extra time, only Tim Howard (USA) has made more than 15 saves (16 saves in the Round of 16 match against Belgium at the 2014 World Cup).

The Ecuador team launched a total of 27 shots, 15 of which were on target. However, regardless of whether they were long-range or close-range shots, with their feet or headers, Ecuador failed to beat goalkeeper Eloy Room. The Curacao goalkeeper was given a perfect 10 rating by the Sofascore data website.

Video: Curacao draws 0-0 with Ecuador

Born in 1989 in the Netherlands, Eloy Room rose through the ranks of Vitesse Arnhem's youth academy. For most of his career, he played in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States. Prior to the 2026 World Cup, the goalkeeper was playing for Miami FC in the US second division.

Eloy Room is not an unfamiliar name to Vietnamese football fans. In 2019, he played for the Curacao national team against Vietnam in the final of the King's Cup friendly tournament (held in Buriram, Thailand). Curacao won on penalties after the two teams drew 1-1 in regular time.

The Vietnamese player who scored against Curacao was Pham Duc Huy. In the penalty shootout, Eloy Room faced Nguyen Anh Duc, Nguyen Cong Phuong, Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Trong Hoang, and Doan Van Hau in turn. He failed to save any of the shots. However, Cong Phuong missed, and Curacao won 5-4 in the shootout.