Eloy Room helps Curacao earn first World Cup point with Ecuador draw

His 15 saves help Curacao hold Ecuador to a 0-0 draw in Group E

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group E - Ecuador v Curacao - Kansas City Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, US - Jun 20, 2026 Curacao's Eloy Room in action as he makes a save from Ecuador's Gonzalo Plata REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Curacao found a comfort level in their second-ever World Cup match, pulling off a 0-0 tie with Ecuador behind the play of goalkeeper Eloy Room to earn the country's first-ever point in a Group E match on Saturday night in Kansas City.

Room made 15 saves, just shy of the record 16 made by the United States' Tim Howard in a 2014 World Cup match against Belgium. The effort -- a World Cup record for a 90-minute match -- helped Curacao rebound from a 7-1 loss to Germany in their World Cup debut last Sunday.

At the final whistle, Room went to his knees, and the 37-year-old bowed his head onto the turf in relief.

Ecuador's disappointing World Cup run continued with a second consecutive scoreless match. They lost to Ivory Coast 1-0 on Sunday.

Neither team was officially eliminated from advancing to the knockout round, although they will each need a win on the final matchday to stay alive.

Ecuador (0-1-1, 1 point) has a daunting task ahead with a match against Germany on Thursday at East Rutherford, NJ Curacao (0-1-1, 1 point) will complete their group-stage schedule with a simultaneous match against Ivory Coast at Philadelphia.

Among the many high-level saves Room made, the most impressive might have come in the third minute on a shot from close range from Ecuador's Enner Valencia. With a clean look at goal, Valencia's shot was stopped on a dive from Room to his left.

The stop set a high standard that the goalkeeper from Miami FC of the second-division USL Championship was able to maintain throughout.

Ecuador primary held possession on Curacao's end in the closing minutes. Early in stoppage time, Ecuador substitute Angelo Preciado took a shot from long range that rebounded off the top of the crossbar.

Room reached 15 saves on a long-range shot from Ecuador's Pedro Vite in the 80th minute. Ecuador was unable to get another shot on target despite constant pressure.

Ecuador dominated the run of play with 63% of possession to 26% for Curacao. Ecuador also had a 28-10 advantage on shots with Curacao taking three on target.