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Curaçao's Eloy Room makes history with 15 saves in World Cup draw against Ecuador
Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves against Ecuador in their 2026 World Cup opener, securing a point for his team and nearing a tournament record.
Curaçao drew 0-0 with Ecuador in Kansas in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup. The undisputed hero of the match was goalkeeper Eloy Room, who saved 15 shots from Ecuador.
Ecuador besieged the Curaçao goal throughout the match with a total of 18 shots. According to Opta data, since 1966, no World Cup match had seen so many shots without a goal being scored. Ecuador has now finished seven of its last 12 official matches with a 0-0 draw.
A night of historic statistics
In the first half, Ecuador registered six shots on the Curaçao goal and completed 340 successful passes. Both statistics are the highest for Ecuador in the first half of a World Cup match in their tournament history.
Ecuador's 15 shots on target are the most by a South American team in a World Cup match since 1966. It is also the second-highest number seen in a World Cup match this century, after Belgium's 17 shots against the USA in 2014.
Ecuador's expected goals value was calculated at 3.05. This is the highest expected goals value for a team that failed to score in the tournament so far. The 1.7 expected goals attributed to Ecuadorian forward Enner Valencia is the highest for a player who did not score in the 2026 World Cup.
Room enters World Cup history
Eloy Room's 15 saves matched the number made by Tim Howard for the USA against Belgium in their extra-time match in 2014. This is the most saves by a goalkeeper in a World Cup match since 1966.
Room became the fifth CONCACAF goalkeeper to make nine or more saves in a World Cup match in the last 50 years. Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa and the USA's Tony Meola, Tim Howard, and Brad Friedel had previously made the list.
Curaçao fielded five starting players aged 32 or over in this match. This made them the third team at the 2026 World Cup to start with five or more players over 32. Iran started with six and Brazil with five.
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