Curaçao’s men’s soccer team made history on Saturday, June 20, by tying Ecuador 0-0 in their Group E match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City, Missouri. Goalkeeper Elroy Room, who plays for Miami FC in the USL Championship, made 15 saves, the most by a goalkeeper in a 90-minute World Cup regulation match.
Curaçao’s Historic Performance
Room’s impressive performance tied as the second most saves in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966, just behind the United States’ Tim Howard’s 16 saves against Belgium in 2014. Curaçao, with a population of 158,006, became the smallest nation to qualify for the men’s World Cup this summer.
The team, also known as ‘The Blue Wave,’ has a connection to South Florida, having trained at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton in preparation for the World Cup. They hosted an open public training session at FAU Stadium on June 11, drawing 5,000 fans.
Curaçao has the chance to advance out of group play and into the single-elimination round of 32 if it defeats Ivory Coast in its last match of Group E play on June 25 in Philadelphia.
Original reporting: WPBF West Palm Beach — read the source article.
