World Cup: The most saves in a single match after Eloy Room makes history for Curacao

On Saturday nighttime successful Kansas City, Ecuador were fancied by galore to prime up 3 points against World Cup debutants Curacao, and they tried their champion to execute that, registering 29 shots and accumulating an expected goals adjacent to three. 

However, they were incapable to find a mode past the Blue Wave’s goalkeeper Eloy Room, whose 15 saves secured a goalless draw and earned Curacao their archetypal ever constituent astatine a World Cup.

The effect represented a singular turnaround for the 37-year-old goalkeeper, who had conceded 7 goals successful a dense decision against Germany successful their World Cup opener, but against Ecuador helium produced 1 of the astir memorable goalkeeping displays successful the tournament's history. 

Room denied Enner Valencia connected aggregate occasions and continued to frustrate the South Americans passim the match, finishing conscionable 1 prevention abbreviated of the World Cup grounds for a azygous game. 

That grounds has stood since 2014 and belongs to different goalkeeper whose show remains 1 of the astir celebrated successful the competition's history. However, Room present owns the grounds for astir saves successful a World Cup crippled aft 90 minutes.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look astatine the goalkeepers who person recorded the highest prevention totals successful a azygous World Cup match.

1. Tim Howard (USA) — 16 saves vs Belgium, 2014

The grounds remains with Tim Howard, who produced an outstanding show for the United States against Belgium successful the circular of 16 astatine the 2014 World Cup successful Brazil. 

Belgium registered 39 shots crossed 120 minutes, but Howard repeatedly kept his broadside successful the contention with a bid of saves passim mean clip and other time.

The American goalkeeper had already made 11 saves by the extremity of the 90 minutes earlier further unit arrived successful other clip erstwhile Belgium yet recovered a mode done via Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, portion Julian Green scored a precocious reply for the United States successful a 2-1 defeat. 

Despite the result, Howard was named Man of the Match, and his show remains the highest fig of saves recorded by a goalkeeper successful a World Cup lucifer since FIFA began tracking the statistic successful 1966, though that includes other time.

2. Eloy Room (Curaçao) — 15 saves vs Ecuador, 2026

Room's show against Ecuador ranks 2nd connected the all-time database and stands arsenic the highest prevention full recorded wrong 90 minutes, fixed that Howard required other clip to scope 16 saves.

Facing a squad that finished supra Uruguay during South American qualifying, Room was required to marque a fig of hard stops alternatively than regular saves, denying Valencia aboriginal successful the contention and continuing to nutrient important interventions arsenic Ecuador accrued the unit successful the 2nd half.

Curacao, a federation with a colonisation of astir 158,000, became the 2nd squad astatine this tourney to forestall Ecuador from scoring, and careless of however their World Cup run unfolds from here, Room's show volition stay 1 of the standout idiosyncratic displays of the competition.

3. Ramon Quiroga (Peru) — 14 saves vs Netherlands, 1978

Before Howard and Room, Ramon Quiroga held a salient spot successful World Cup goalkeeping past pursuing his show against the Netherlands astatine the 1978 tourney successful Argentina.

Quiroga, who was known for an adventurous benignant that often saw him permission his punishment area, made 14 saves to assistance Peru withstand sustained Dutch pressure, and his full remained the highest recorded astatine a World Cup for 36 years earlier Howard surpassed it successful Brazil.

Given the prime of the Netherlands broadside helium faced and the epoch successful which helium played, Quiroga's show continues to beryllium regarded arsenic 1 of the astir notable idiosyncratic goalkeeping displays successful the tournament's history.

4. Stoyan Yordanov (Bulgaria) — 12 saves vs Morocco, 1970

Before Quiroga's show successful 1978, Stoyan Yordanov's 12 saves against Morocco astatine the 1970 World Cup successful Mexico represented 1 of the earliest important prevention totals recorded aft FIFA began tracking the statistic successful 1966.

Although Bulgaria exited the contention during the radical stage, Yordanov's show demonstrated the interaction a goalkeeper tin person adjacent erstwhile a squad is nether sustained pressure. 

More than 5 decades later, his show remains among the highest single-match prevention totals ever recorded astatine a World Cup.