Did Eloy Room just tie ‘Secretary of Defense’ Tim Howard’s World Cup saves record?
Eloy Room made the most saves in a 90-minute World Cup game as Curacao claimed a shock draw against Ecuador and may also have tied Tim Howard’s record for the most saves in any World Cup game, which the United States ‘Secretary of Defense’ set 12 years ago in Brazil.
FIFA recorded Howard as having made 16 saves in the United States’ 2-1 round of 16 defeat by Belgium in the 2014 World Cup, though the respected data recorder OPTA recorded the figure as 15.
Behind those two are Ramon Quiroga, who set it for Peru in 1978 vs Netherlands, making 14 and Stoyan Yordanov of Bulgaria in 1970, who made his 12 vs Morocco.
Room’s 15 saves came from 29 shots and gave Curacao, ranked 81st and in their first World Cup, their first point of the tournament against a team ranked 30th and fancied by some as an outside chance to win it.
Instead Ecuador are in danger of being eliminated with their final game coming against Germany, who qualified as winners of group E.
Room was on 100,000 followers on Instagram as the game started but that has now passed 500,000 and has also written his place into history.
Here The Athletic’s Jack Lang, Felipe Cardenas and Jack Lang break down what happened.
Who is Eloy Room?
Eloy Room’s sensational performance against Ecuador in prime time was must-see television on Saturday night in North America. The 37-year-old goalkeeper was excellent as he made 15 saves.
Room made six saves in the first half, including a point-blank stop from an Enner Valencia breakaway. He continued his cat-like saves in the second half as Ecuador piled on the pressure. Room was always well-positioned as he parried shots away again and again. It was a heroic effort that will be remembered for years to come.
Howard making one of his saves against Belgium (Photo: Perry McIntyre/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Room is at the World Cup with first-timers Curacao but don’t let that distract you from his impressive professional career. He won an Eredivisie title with PSV during the 2017-2018 season. But prior to that, he spent 15 seasons with Vitesse where he made over 130 appearances for the Dutch club.
Born in the Netherlands, Room joined Vitesse as a teenager and remained at the club through his adult years. A brief spell with PSV was followed by a move to MLS to join the Columbus Crew in 2019. He quickly made his mark in the U.S. Roy was a standout performer for the Ohio-based side.
He won the MLS Save of Year that season and started in the MLS Cup final that Columbus won. Today he plays for second tier Miami FC of the USL Championship. Today he became a Curacao World Cup legend.
Felipe Cardenas
Why do Ecuador love a 0-0?
Ecuadraw. Ecuad0-0r. Harsh? Maybe a touch, but there really is no denying objective reality. Ecuador are a good side, one that performed admirably in South American qualifying, but they are addicted to goalless draws.
La Tri drew eight of their 18 qualifiers — including four of the last five — 0-0. Their first game in Group E, against Ivory Coast, looked to be heading that way, too, before a late intervention by Amad Diallo. Here, despite a frankly ludicrous second-half assault on the Curacao goal, they returned again to their favourite scoreline.
This was not, to be clear, Ecuaboring. Sebastian Beccacece’s side threw the kitchen sink at it, throwing caution to the wind and pretty much every player forward. They could not, however, find the breakthrough.
The inquest will centre on Beccacece but there are personnel issues. Enner Valencia has 49 goals in 107 Ecuador games but there is no one else chipping in. Gonzalo Plata has scored eight times; the next players on the list are defenders. The other strikers in the squad are underwhelming at best.
Ecuador often struggle to generate quality chances, too. Plata has his moments but too much of the burden is on him. The central midfielders are all better at winning the ball back than they are slipping passes through. The great creative hope for this team, Kendry Paez, has gone off the rails since breaking through as a 16-year-old; he wasn’t even used here. Ecuador had shots aplenty in the second half but most came from dead balls, pot shots and moments of chaos in the Curacao box.
Sorting this out will take time. In the short term, Ecuador are staring down the barrel. If they are to continue in this World Cup, they will need to break the habit of a lifetime and actually score some goals against Germany.
Jack Lang
Why did we overestimate Ecuador?
There is an obvious flaw in the notion of trying to identify a World Cup surprise package. If you can name a team that’s going to surprise people, then it’s not much of a surprise, is it?
Still, it can feel like a fool’s errand. Among the usual “dark horse” talk in the build-up, there was a lot of love for Ecuador and Turkey. The earnest “Don’t sleep on Ecuador” talk included one writer who, with hindsight, wishes he had been talking to The Athletic on the subject of anonymity in order to protect his position. (Yes, reader. It was me.)
Hmmm. Not looking great for La Tri, is it? Having lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast in their opening game, they had so much possession against Curacao, creating so many chances, but a 0-0 draw leaves them in a perilous position in Group E. Realistically, they might have to beat Germany in their final game to reach the knockout stage.
Ecuador have become a real success story in 21st century football; this is their fifth men’s World Cup in the last seven, having never qualified previously, and they have built up a strong core of talented players in leading European leagues. But elimination at the group stage in 2022 was a disappointment and it will be a similar story if they fail to progress here.
Still, it could be worse. Their fellow dark horses Turkey are already out of the tournament. They took 62 shots across their first two games and failed to score. At times this evening Ecuador seemed intent on rivalling that number. They at least claimed a point — so it could have been worse, just about — but the only team doing any surprising here was Curacao.
Oliver Kay
How close were Curacao to winning?
Curacao’s 7-1 loss to Germany set off the alarms that the 48-team World Cup had been a mistake. Underdog stories are always welcome but with billions around the world watching, the four-time world champions punished the Caribbean country with no mercy. Cape Verde then battled to a 0-0 draw against European champions Spain, which quieted the tournament’s detractors.
Then Uzbekistan, a country that had never qualified for a World Cup, took Colombia to the brink in Mexico City. On Saturday, Curacao, ranked 81st in the world, showed that rankings go out the window stress levels are through the roof. Ecuador needed the win. Curacao played for pride. They shook off the nerves from their World Cup debut and consistently frustrated one of South America’s better teams.
Sometimes when the lights are brightest, a player’s skin suddenly gets thicker. Curacao’s valiant effort in Kansas City was another win for Gianni Infantino’s desire to make the World Cup “more inclusive.”
Felipe Cardenas