{"id":48991,"date":"2026-06-21T09:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T13:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/curacao-veteran-sets-world-cup-record-with-heroic-performance\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T09:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T13:36:13","slug":"curacao-veteran-sets-world-cup-record-with-heroic-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/curacao-veteran-sets-world-cup-record-with-heroic-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Curacao veteran sets World Cup record with heroic performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/curacao-veteran-sets-world-cup-record-with-heroic-performance\/#Eloy_Room_sets_World_Cup_save_record\" >Eloy Room sets World Cup save record<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/curacao-veteran-sets-world-cup-record-with-heroic-performance\/#Curacaos_first_World_Cup\" >Curacao&#8217;s first World Cup<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>There has been lively debate over the format of the 2026 World Cup, with the number of teams set to increase by 50% from 32 to 48, with many countries set to take part in the tournament for the first time. However, there is no shortage of stories from the United States, Canada, and Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>It started with Cape Verde&#8217;s impressive 0-0 draw with Spain in their opening game, taking a point from being favorites to win the tournament, while Qatar snatched their first World Cup point in stoppage time against Switzerland. On Saturday night, Curacao held Ecuador to a 0-0 draw with one outstanding hero, securing their first-ever result.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Eloy_Room_sets_World_Cup_save_record\"><\/span>Eloy Room sets World Cup save record<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-320x213.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-414x276.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-630x420.jpg.webp 630w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-768x512.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-770x513.jpg.webp 770w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-900x600.jpg.webp 900w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-1200x800.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-1536x1024.jpg.webp 1536w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Room2-2048x1365.jpg.webp 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 770px, (min-width:1020px) 630px, (min-width:900px) 880px, (min-width:680px) 97vw, (min-width:414px) 414px, 100vw\"><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via FIFA.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After 40-year-old Cape Verdean goalkeeper Vosinha stole the show against Spain, it was 37-year-old Eloy Room who stole the show against Ecuador. The veteran shot-stopper totaled 15 saves for Kansas City, setting a World Cup record for most in a 90-minute game since record-keeping began in 1966, according to Opta.<\/p>\n<p>As explained by Marca, the only previous example of an even higher number of saves was Tim Howard&#8217;s 16 goals for the United States against Belgium in 2014. However, that game included overtime, and the United States lost 2-1 in the round of 16 and was eliminated.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Curacaos_first_World_Cup\"><\/span>Curacao&#8217;s first World Cup<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-320x213.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-414x276.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-630x420.jpg.webp 630w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-768x512.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-770x513.jpg.webp 770w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-900x600.jpg.webp 900w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-1200x800.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-1536x1024.jpg.webp 1536w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Curacao-fans-2048x1366.jpg.webp 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 770px, (min-width:1020px) 630px, (min-width:900px) 880px, (min-width:680px) 97vw, (min-width:414px) 414px, 100vw\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via FIFA.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It will be Cura\u00e7ao&#8217;s first World Cup under former Rangers and Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat, who qualified from the Concacaf region. They finished first in the group with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda. Cura\u00e7ao is an island belonging to the Netherlands, located on the Caribbean coast, just north of Latin America. Although it has a population of just 98,000, it has a large Dutch diaspora, from which many of its players originate.<\/p>\n<p>Room himself is eligible to play for Cura\u00e7ao because of his father, who spent much of his career in the Netherlands and grew up there. Room currently plays for Miami FC, but has also previously played for PSV Eindhoven and Vitesse Arnhem.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There has been lively debate over the format of the 2026 World Cup, with the number of teams set to increase by 50% from 32 to 48, with many countries set to take part in the tournament for the first time. However, there is no shortage of stories from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-48991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}