Eloy Room's 15-save masterclass earns Curacao a stunning draw against Ecuador

Eloy Room delivered one of the most remarkable individual goalkeeping performances in World Cup history on Saturday, making 15 saves to earn Curacao a draw against Ecuador in their Group E clash at the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and turning himself into a global sensation in the process.

Ecuador dominated the contest, registering 26 shots with 15 on target compared to Curacao’s 10 attempts and just four on target. Yet the 37-year-old Room, who plays his club football with Miami FC in the USL Championship, stood firm throughout, keeping out 10 shots from inside the box alone. When the final whistle blew, the scoreline was level and Room walked away with the FIFA Man of the Match award.

The 15-save tally is the joint-highest ever recorded in a single World Cup match. United States legend Tim Howard had long been credited with the outright record after his extraordinary display against Belgium in the 2014 round of 16, but global stats provider Opta has since revised that figure from 16 to 15, drawing Howard level with Room. Crucially, Howard reached that mark across 120 minutes of extra time; Room matched it in 90.

The result carries particular significance for Curacao, a Caribbean island nation of just over 150,000 people, as it secured the team’s first points of the tournament.

The impact of Room’s performance extended well beyond the pitch. Heading into the match, the goalkeeper had around 100,000 Instagram followers. By full-time that figure had already surpassed 465,000, and it continued to climb past 760,000 in the hours that followed, with the total approaching one million.

Room was in good spirits when speaking to reporters after the game, joking that a statue should be erected in his honour back home in Curacao, while also admitting he was “a little bit annoyed” at not holding the record outright.

“So I think he was sweating at home, you know, looking at the game,” Room said of Howard with a laugh. “But no, yeah, I heard it was also another record from really long ago. So yeah, I’m proud of that.”