{"id":752063,"date":"2026-06-21T18:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/752063\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T18:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:33:09","slug":"room-shuts-door-as-curacao-claim-historic-first-world-cup-point-against-ecuador-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/752063\/","title":{"rendered":"Room shuts door as Cura\u00e7ao claim historic first World Cup point against Ecuador | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is doubtful whether many Ecuador<\/a> supporters \u2013 or many others for that matter \u2013 had ever heard the name Eloy Room before this match. They will never forget it now.<\/p>\n

Watched by King Willem-Alexander and Queen M\u00e1xima of the Netherlands in the stands, the Cura\u00e7ao goalkeeper etched his name into the pantheon of World Cup legends with what must rank as one of the most heroic performances<\/a> in the history of the competition.<\/p>\n

Room \u2013 a 37-year-old who has spent most of his career sitting on the bench for clubs in the Eredivisie \u2013 came within one save of matching Tim Howard\u2019s all-time record of 16 in a men\u2019s World Cup game from 2014, although that included a period of extra time. No goalkeeper has made more stops in 90 minutes of World Cup action since records began in 1966. It earned the nation with the smallest population to make it to a finals a first point on their tournament debut against highly rated opponents, as Dick Advocaat\u2019s side recovered from their 7-1 thrashing against Germany<\/a> a few days ago in some style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have to process it myself,\u201d said Room, who revealed that he had received a congratulatory kiss from Queen M\u00e1xima in the changing room afterwards. \u201cI\u2019m a bit annoyed that I didn\u2019t get the record in the end but I think Tim Howard was sweating a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eloy Room received a kiss from Queen M\u00e1xima after his stellar display. Photograph: Hannah McKay\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Advocaat, who stepped down in February due to his daughter\u2019s health concerns before returning last month and who is the oldest manager at a World Cup<\/a> finals, was in tears at the final whistle. \u201cI\u2019m so proud,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have come from nothing and they fought like lions. It will be a big party on the island tonight and they deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ecuador, who left the field to jeers from their fans as Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s players congratulated theirs, it was another performance to forget and they know they must beat Germany in their final group match to stand any chance of progressing. \u201cThere are things you cannot explain in football \u2013 we\u2019ve had 27 shots on goal but we couldn\u2019t score,\u201d their head coach, Sebasti\u00e1n Beccacece, said. \u201cIt is normal to feel this pain but we still have a chance to put things right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ecuador\u2019s Gonzalo Plata cuts a frustrated figure during the match. Photograph: Alexandra Fechete\/SPP\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s thumping against Julian Nagelsmann\u2019s side had not dampened the spirit of their supporters, with as many as 5% of the country\u2019s 160,000 population estimated to have travelled to the US. They more than held their own in the pre\u2011match decibel challenge at the self\u2011styled loudest stadium in the world.<\/p>\n

But the section of blue-shirted fans who brought their own brass band to perform the national anthem before kick-off were totally outnumbered by an expectant Ecuadorian crowd, boosted by a large local expat population, who were desperate to make amends for their surprise defeat by C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire<\/a> that ended a 19-match unbeaten run.<\/p>\n

The stylish Beccacece \u2013 a long-haired Argentinian who started his career with the youth teams at Lionel Messi\u2019s childhood club, Newell\u2019s Old Boys, and is a disciple of Jorge Sampaoli \u2013 had urged against complacency as they prepared to face a side ranked 83rd by Fifa. \u201cWe are not Germany,\u201d he warned beforehand.<\/p>\n

With a team packed full of players starring for top European clubs, including Arsenal\u2019s Piero Hincapi\u00e9 and Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain in defence, La Tri were widely tipped to do well here after finishing second in South American qualifying.<\/p>\n

Enner Valencia should have settled their nerves inside the opening two minutes when the veteran former West Ham striker raced through on goal. But Room \u2013 who earned himself a move to second-tier side Miami FC off the back of his performances in qualifying \u2013 produced an exceptional save to push his shot around a post.<\/p>\n

Eloy Room<\/a><\/p>\n

King WillemThe king and queen, having been treated to a 5-1 Netherlands victory<\/a> against Sweden in Houston hours earlier, may have feared the worst for the territory less than 40 miles from the South American coast that was colonised by the Dutch in the 17th century. Yet Cura\u00e7ao showed they are not here to make up the numbers as a driving run from Sheffield United\u2019s Tahith Chong \u2013 the only member of Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s squad born on the island and sporting a distinctive haircut for the occasion \u2013 lifted the tempo before Juninho Bacuna shot wide.<\/p>\n

Advocaat was further encouraged by the space his side were finding down the flanks as Ecuador\u2019s wingbacks pushed high. The frustration was starting to grow for Beccacece after Pedro Vite curled wide and some slack passing undermined his side\u2019s dominance of possession. Valencia and John Yeboah tested Room just before the break but the goalkeeper was again equal to their efforts.<\/p>\n

It was up to Ecuador to raise their game significantly and Beccacece hauled off Jordy Alc\u00edvar for the second half after he had picked up a booking and replaced him with Kevin Rodr\u00edguez. Room resumed where he left off by making a routine save from Mois\u00e9s Caicedo before somehow stopping a goal-bound header from a corner that deflected off his own player.<\/p>\n

Cura\u00e7ao players embrace after claiming a famous point. Photograph: Amy Kontras\/EPA<\/p>\n

Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s discipline began to wane as they were pushed back but they continued to look dangerous on the break. A brilliant back-heel from Bacuna set up his older brother and captain, Leandro, and Hern\u00e1n Gal\u00edndez ended up having to make a triple save from Livano Comenencia and J\u00fcrgen Locadia.<\/p>\n

Room took centre stage again moments later when Rodr\u00edguez powered a header on target from a corner and the goalkeeper repelled further efforts from Valencia and Pacho. Hincapi\u00e9 headed over from a corner before \u00c1ngelo Preciado\u2019s cross hit the woodwork. Valencia wasted the best chance to win it for Ecuador and left Cura\u00e7ao feeling on top of the world.<\/p>\n

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands enjoys the celebrations in the Cura\u00e7ao dressing room after the match. Photograph: Alex Pantling\/Fifa\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is doubtful whether many Ecuador supporters \u2013 or many others for that matter \u2013 had ever heard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":752064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-752063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/752064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}