Meet the Record-Equalling Keeper Who Helped Curacao Make History

Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room delivered a heroic performance, making a remarkable 15 saves to secure his nation's first-ever point in the World Cup with a goalless draw against Ecuador. The 37-year-old Miami FC keeper's display was so extraordinary that pundits joked a calculator was needed to count his interventions.

Room's 15 saves equaled the record for the most stops made by a goalkeeper in a single 90-minute World Cup match since records began in 1966. While Tim Howard also achieved this number of saves for the USA against Belgium in 2014, he conceded two goals in extra time, unlike Room's clean sheet.

"Take a bow, Room," commented former Arsenal defender Martin Keown on BBC One. "Absolutely magnificent. The number of saves, you were almost getting a calculator out at the end of the game to count them up. It just became a shopping list of saves. His reactions were first class. He seemed destined to keep a clean sheet all night."

This historic result for the World Cup debutants was significantly influenced by Room, who is also the oldest member of the squad. He previously made a crucial save in a 0-0 draw with Jamaica that secured Curacao's qualification for the tournament. The Dutch-born goalkeeper, who played in the Eredivisie for over a decade, including a title win with PSV, moved to the USA in 2019.

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Take a bow, Room. Absolutely magnificent. The number of saves, you were almost getting a calculator out at the end of the game to count them up. It just became a shopping list of saves. His reactions were first class. He seemed destined to keep a clean sheet all night.