KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Curacao goaltender Eloy Room made 15 saves against Ecuador’s relentless attack and the Blue Wave held heavily favored La Tri to a 0-0 draw Saturday night, giving the small island nation its first points in World Cup history.
This result also gave permission to Germany. defeated Ivory Coast Group E was confirmed earlier in the day.
Room, 37, has bounced back from a slump after shutting out Jamaica last November to send Curacao to their first World Cup appearance. lost to Germany 7-1 It was one of the best performances by a goalkeeper in World Cup history. His saves were the first since saves became an official statistic in 1966, just shy of the 16 saves set by Tim Howard of the United States against Belgium on July 1, 2014.
While the draw does not exclude either team from the final, it does put Ecuador in a dire situation heading into their final group match. Those games will take place on Thursday, with Curacao facing Ivory Coast in Philadelphia and Ecuador facing Germany in New York.
Ecuador certainly had home field advantage Saturday night at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs. It looked like a Minions tournament, with a packed stadium of fans wearing bright yellow shirts like the players. There were only a few Curaçao fans wearing blue in the stadium, which could accommodate half of the islanders.
Also in the crowd were Kansas City Royals players Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Starling Marte.
The pressure on Ecuador increased earlier on Saturday as Germany beat Ivory Coast 2-1 thanks to Deniz Undav’s stoppage-time goal. The result of the match in Toronto meant that La Tri faced elimination from the World Cup with a loss to the Blue Wave.
Curaçao continued to apply pressure once play started.
Throughout the first half, 78-year-old coach Dick Advocaat’s side continued to find seams in the middle of the Ecuadorian defense, creating open lines of sight towards goal. But each time, Curaçao ended the conceded goal with a sloppy pass or a shot that missed the goal.
Ecuador squandered their best scoring chance in the opening minutes as World Cup veteran Enel Valencia couldn’t find anything between him and the goalkeeper. But Room guessed correctly, diving to his left and deflecting the shot to keep the game scoreless.
In the second half, La Tri’s relentless pressure intensified, and Room stood in their way each time.
Moises Caicedo forced a fine save early on, and Valencia did the same with a well-placed header that was widened by Room. In the ensuing corner kick, Room made two more sensational saves and Curacao finally cleared.
It was that kind of night for Room. And it was that kind of night for Ecuador.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
