Curacao, which trains at FAU and is the smallest country to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup, earned its first-ever point in the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on Saturday night, June 20, in Kansas City.
Curacao was led by goalkeeper Eloy Room of Miami FC. Room made 15 saves, setting a record for a 90-minute World Cup match. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard owns the overall record at 16 in an extra-time match vs. Belgium.
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Curacao’s scoreless success was a stark turnaround from its debut earlier in the tournament in which Germany routed the Blue Wave 7-1.
Ecuador dominated possession at 74 percent and took 28 total shots.
Room is threatening to be Curacao’s answer to Cape Verde’s Vozinha, an instant sensation.
While training at FAU, Room expressed confidence his country, off the coast of Venezuela, could make its presence known in the World Cup despite a population of about 156,000.
“I think we also showed in the games we played that we can compete with bigger countries, and now we’re here,” Room said. “And now we want to do it at the World Cup.”
Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece said of Room, “Congratulations for him because he had a great game.”
Room had about 100,000 followers early Sunday evening but had surpassed 500,000 followers minutes after the match. Vozinha’s account exploded to 14.6 million followers.
Germany tops Group E with six points. Ivory Coast is second with three. Curacao and Ecuador are tied with one.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Curacao, which trains at FAU, earns first-ever World Cup point
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
