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Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Rum made history with an incredible 15 saves to earn his country their first World Cup point in a 0-0 draw with Ecuador in Group E.
Room, 37, set a new record for the most saves in 90 minutes of a World Cup match since the record began in 1966, with an outstanding display that likely kept alive the qualification hopes of a team ranked 81st in the world and with a population of just 158,000 despite their 7-1 opening-game defeat to Germany.
Ecuador, fancied by many to go deep into the tournament after a promising qualifying campaign, had 27 shots, with an xG of 3.05, yet drew another blank after losing 1-0 to Ivory Coast and must now beat table-toppers Germany.
Ecuador’s Ener Valencia was denied by Eloy Room in the third minute
Ener Valencia was the most wasteful of Ecuador’s forwards with seven shots, denying the best save in the room in just the third minute before Gonzalo Plata had his close-range header blocked by the unbeaten goalkeeper on a remarkable night for Kansas.
Key moments from Kansas…
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3: Huge savings! Curacao goalkeeper Ruum denied Valencia with a superb stop.
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69: Room again! Plata’s close-range header from a corner was superbly blocked by the goalkeeper.
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60: Double save! But not from the room as Curacao were denied a shock lead.
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79: The room makes history! Angulo’s piledriver from outside the box is blocked by Room to make his fifteenth save.
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90: Stop the woodwork! Ecuador substitute Preciado saw his cross hit the crossbar.
Who is the alloy room?
Rumm, who plays for second-tier Miami FC in the USL Championship, signed for the club in December last year.
The 37-year-old won the Eredivisie title with PSV in the 2017/18 season and before that spent most of his career at Vitesse, where he made over 250 appearances over two spells.
After PSV, he signed for MLS side Columbus Crew in 2019, playing 102 times and winning the MLS Save of the Year and the MLS Cup.
Home for a hero…
Save after saving!
Ecuador
Sky Sports’ David Richardson:
The problem with Ecuador’s qualifying campaign was their repeated reliance on 0-0 draws, a habit that now threatens an embarrassing group-stage exit.
Amad Diallo’s last-minute winner denied Ivory Coast a draw in their opening game after recording eight shutouts in 18 qualifiers. Even their 1-0 win over Argentina, which ended their qualifying campaign, came after four consecutive 0-0 draws.
That trend continues. They had drawn five of their eight friendlies prior to this tournament. Sebastien Becasé’s side struggle for goals, often winning the odd goal, and lean heavily on Ener Valencia, who has 49 goals in 107 games. The next highest scorer is Gonzalo Plata with eight.
A 0-0 draw despite 27 shots against a team ranked 81st in the world is an achievement in itself. Beating Germany to reach the knockout stage would be even bigger.
