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Eloy Room stopped 15 shots against Ecuador on June 20 and earned Curacao their first point in FIFA World Cup history. A 0-0 draw has never felt this loud.
The 37-year-old goalkeeper, who plays his club football for Miami FC in the USL Championship, faced 29 shots from an Ecuador side that simply could not find a way past him. The performance tied or nearly matched Tim Howard’s iconic 16-save display against Belgium at the 2014 World Cup.
Curacao, a Caribbean island nation with a population smaller than most mid-sized American cities, had never earned a single point at a World Cup before this match in Kansas City, Missouri.
The performance, by the numbers
Ecuador peppered his goal with 29 shots across the game. Room turned every single one of them away.
For perspective, the record for most saves in a men’s World Cup match without overtime belongs to Howard’s 2014 effort against Belgium, when he stopped 16 shots in regulation (and the US still lost the game in extra time). Room’s 15 saves came in a match that ended at the final whistle with a clean sheet intact.
Why crypto is paying attention
Sorare, the blockchain-based fantasy sports platform that sells NFT player cards, has a card tied to Eloy Room. Sorare operates on a model where digital player cards fluctuate in value based on real-world performance.
What this means for sports NFT investors
Room is 37 years old, playing in the USL Championship. His World Cup run with Curacao, while historic, faces steep odds of continuing deep into the tournament.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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