Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room joked that he deserves a statue on the Caribbean island after a jaw-dropping display that earned the team their first-ever World Cup point.
The 37-year-old shot-stopper made 15 saves in the Group E match against Ecuador on Saturday to keep alive Curacao’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.
His tally is the most on record — since 1966 — by any goalkeeper in a World Cup match that did not feature extra-time.
Curacao celebrated their 0-0 draw in Kansas City wildly — days after a chastening 7-1 defeat against Germany on their World Cup debut.
“It means everything,” said Room. “It feels like a victory, you know, for us. But now it means a lot. It’s the first point in the World Cup for us.
“So it’s unreal if you know the journey where we come from and we’re now here. And today we showed we have real heart with the team. So it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
The Miami FC goalkeeper joked that he was disappointed to miss out on former US goalkeeper Tim Howard’s record of 16 saves noted by FIFA in a match against Belgium at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that went to extra time.
“I think he was sweating at home, you know, looking at the game,” he said. “But I heard it was also another record from really long ago. So yeah, I’m proud of that.”
Room praised his teammates but cheekily suggested his achievement should be set in stone.
“I’m really proud of the team also, because again, we did it with the team,” he said. “I make the saves, but we fought as a team, also the players who came in.
“But I think I need a statue in Curaçao, I think now.”
