Curacao’s Eloy Room makes 15 saves, sends island nation to 0-0 draw with Ecuador in World Cup

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Curacao better make some room for a new national hero.

Eloy Room delivered for his tiny Caribbean nation one of the finest performances in World Cup history on Saturday night, making 15 saves against a relentless Ecuador attack and helping The Blue Wave earn its first-ever point with a 0-0 draw against La Tri.

The outcome also allowed Germany, which beat Ivory Coast earlier in the day, to clinch Group E.

“It’s going to be an insane memory,” said Room, who plays for USL Championship club Miami FC. “You don’t think about it when you do it but of course it’s going to be something you look back to. For me as a goalkeeper, this is almost a perfect game."

The 37-year-old Room, whose shutout of Jamaica last November sent Curacao to its first World Cup, bounced back in historic fashion from a 7-1 loss to Germany. His save total was one shy of the record — since saves became an official stat in 1966 — of 16 set by Tim Howard of the U.S. against Belgium on July 1, 2014, in a game that Room remembers watching.

Howard needed 120 minutes for his total, though. Nobody has made more saves than Room without extra time.

“I think I need a statue in Curacao now," he said with a smile.

The draw doesn't eliminate either team from knockout play, but it put Ecuador in dire shape going into its group finale. Those matches take place Thursday with Curacao facing Ivory Coast in Philadelphia and Ecuador playing Germany in New York.

“Well, there are things you cannot explain in football,” Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece said. "We wanted to win. We didn't do it. I am the one who bears responsibility, and I told my team, ‘If you’re giving it all, competing, I have no complaints.'

“As long as we are alive, we will continue to give it our all. We are very united. We are like a family. No one said it would be easy.”

Ecuador certainly had a home-field advantage Saturday night at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs. Its fanbase, dressed like its players in bright yellow shirts, filled the stadium to the brim, making it look like a convention of Minions. There was only a couple of small pockets of blue-clad Curacao fans in a stadium whose capacity could house half of its island citizenry.

Among those in the crowd were Kansas City Royals players Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Starling Marte.

And King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who began a memorable day in Houston cheering the Dutch past Sweden, then flew to Kansas City to watch a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands make history.

“They were even dancing in the locker room to our music,” Room said. "That’s unreal that they witnessed this game.”

The pressure mounted on Ecuador earlier Saturday, when Deniz Undav’s goal in stoppage time lifted Germany to a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. The outcome of that match in Toronto meant that La Tri faced World Cup elimination with a loss to The Blue Wave.

Curacao made sure the pressure continued once play began.

Throughout the first half, 78-year-old coach Dick Advocaat's team kept finding seams through the middle of Ecuador's defense, and that created open looks at the goal. But each time, Curacao would end the runs with a sloppy pass or a shot wide of net.

Ecuador wasted its best scoring chance in the opening minutes, when World Cup veteran Enner Valencia found nothing between him and the goalkeeper. But Room guessed right, dived to his left and deflected the shot to keep the game scoreless.

“For us it's no shock,” Curacao midfielder Tahith Chong said. “We've gotten used to Eloy doing these unbelievable saves.”

The pressure of La Tri picked up in the second half — and each time, Room was standing in the way.

Moises Caicedo forced him into making a spectacular save early on, then Valencia did the same with a well-placed header that Room knocked wide. On the ensuing corner kick, Room made two more sensational saves before Curacao finally cleared it.

Ecuador wound up taking 27 shots to just 10 for Curacao. Ten of the 15 saves Room made were inside the box.

It was that kind of special night for him. And that kind of frustrating night for Ecuador.

"The team deserved more than they got," Beccacece said, “and I am the one who is responsible for that.”

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Curaçao's Jurien Gaari (3) heads the ball away on a corner kick as Ecuador's John Yeboah (9) and Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room (1) and Sherel Floranus (5) look on during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador and Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Curaçao's Juergen Locadia grimaces during the World Cup Group E soccer match against Ecuador in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Curaçao's Gervane Kastaneer (19) and Ecuador's Willian Pacho (6) battle for the ball during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador and Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Ecuador's Gonzalo Plata, bottom, falls after being fouled by Curaçao's Gervane Kastaneer during the World Cup Group E soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room (1) makes a save during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador and Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands began Saturday by cheering the Dutch past Sweden in Houston.

The monarchs ended the day by watching Curacao make some history against Ecuador in Kansas City.

The small island nation of Curacao is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and that makes King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima the heads of state. So, after a quick flight north Saturday, the royal couple dutifully swapped out the bright orange scarves of Het Oranje Legioen they wore to their earlier match with bright blue ones for The Blue Wave.

Curacao, the smallest World Cup team in population and size, made its tournament debut last Sunday in a 7-1 loss to Germany. But it bounced back from that defeat for a 0-0 draw with La Tri and earn its first-ever point in the tournament.

“It is an extra-special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curacao,” Willem-Alexander told RTL-TV. “So we have twice as many teams to cheer for. A great opportunity to cheer on both the Blues and the Oranges. All in all, it will be a special World Cup for me with two teams, and I naturally hope they go extremely far.”

The Netherlands moved one step closer to the knockout round after a 5-1 win over Sweden.

Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to help coach Ronald Koeman's team bounce back from a disappointing draw in its opener and move atop Group F. The Netherlands concludes group play against Tunisia on Thursday in Kansas City.

Curacao is still alive, too, after Eloy Room made 15 saves — one off the World Cup record — to earn a draw with Ecuador. It concludes Group E play on Thursday against Ivory Coast in Philadelphia at the same time Ecuador is playing Germany in New York.

“It’s amazing,” Curacao midfielder Tahith Chong said of celebrating with the royal family in the locker room. "I knew before the game that they were coming to the game. To have them at such a game that we pick up our first point ever in history is amazing.”

It is rare for sitting monarchs to come through the Kansas City area. Queen Ann of Romania attended the dedication of the Liberty Memorial, which is where Kansas City is holding its World Cup FanFest, in the 1920s, while King Gustav XVI of Sweden made a stop in the small Kansas town of Lindsborg when he was passing through the Midwest in the 1970s.

Then again, there has never been a sporting event as big as the World Cup through the area, either.

Nor has a nation as small as Curacao ever earned a point in the tournament.

“Seeing how the king, his wife and daughter fit in our group is something that evokes a lot of respect,” said 78-year-old Curacao coach Dick Advocaat, who was born and raised in the Netherlands. “They smile, they dance, nothing is too much for them, and you can see them radiating with joy. It was wonderful to see the royal family in this way.”

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Ariane of the Netherlands applaud on the tribune during the World Cup Group F soccer match between the Netherlands and Sweden in Houston, Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

In this combo image, from left, Netherlands King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Princess Ariane, top image, attend the World Cup soccer match between the Netherlands and Sweden in Houston; and the World Cup soccer match between Ecuador and Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., bottom image, both on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, top; Ed Zurga, bottom)

Netherlands King Willem-Alexander, left, Queen Máxima and Princess Ariane, right, watch the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador y Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)