Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves against Ecuador and became a World Cup hero as his Instagram followers soared to 1 million overnight.
Despite being under pressure all night, Eloy Room escaped with a clean sheet on Saturday (Image: Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Eloy Room has emerged as the latest World Cup sensation after his extraordinary performance in Curacao.
In the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group E match between Curaçao and Ecuador, both teams battled for supremacy, but the Ecuadorians clearly had the upper hand. On the night, Ecuador had 26 shots and 15 on target, while Curacao had 10 shots and only 4 on target.
Despite a clear difference in chances, the match ended in a tie. That’s largely thanks to 37-year-old Room’s superhuman performance between the sticks. The heroic act comes as Iranian protesters explain why it’s important to make their voices heard during the World Cup.
Room had little time to rest as Ecuador pressed relentlessly throughout, but it was clear that the goalkeeper was playing at a completely different level from those around him. When the final whistle blew, Roome had made 15 saves, the second most in World Cup history.
Room’s record was surpassed only by U.S. Men’s National Team legend Tim Howard, who made 16 saves in the 2014 epic matchup between the U.S. and Belgium. Remarkably, Howard achieved this figure in 120 minutes of the match, while the Curacao stopper achieved the record in just 90 minutes.
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Furthermore, global statistics provider Opta later revealed that Howard actually made 15 saves, not 16, tying the room for the most saves ever recorded in a single World Cup game.
Roomu won the FIFA Man of the Match award after his incredible performance, stopping 10 shots from inside the box, helped the country of just over 150,000 people claim their first points at the World Cup.
Curacao’s Eloy Room had the best game of his career in the World Cup against Ecuador (Image: Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Room’s performance on the world’s biggest soccer stage had a huge impact, and his Instagram following exploded overnight. The 37-year-old, who is plying his trade with Miami FC in the USL Championship, had just over 100,000 followers.
By the time the final whistle blew, that number had soared to more than 465,000, bringing the total to nearly 600,000, all thanks to one night’s work. At the time of writing, his follower count had exceeded 760,000 as supporters continued to pour in.
After the match, Room jokingly called for a statue to be erected in Curacao’s honor, but admitted he was “a little frustrated” that he had fallen short of Howard’s record.
“So I think he was at home watching the game and sweating,” the 37-year-old said with a laugh. “But, no, that’s right, this was apparently a very old record as well.
“Yes, I’m proud of that.”
The goalkeeper also admitted that Saturday night’s performance was probably as good as he and his teammates could have been given the circumstances. “For me as a goalkeeper, this is almost a perfect match,” he said.
“So, I’m really proud of the team, too, because, again, we did it as a team. I make the save, but we fought as a team, and so did the players that came in. But yeah, I think now we need a statue in Curacao.”
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