Curacao keeper leaves no Room for Ecuador

Curacao got their first ever World Cup points as they held favourites Ecuador to a 0-0 draw at Kansas City Stadium. The defensive heroics of goalkeeper Eloy Room and Ecuador’s inability to finish their chances meant the tiny island nation were successful in securing the draw and keeping their hopes alive. For Ecuador, it was a disappointing result as they now face a must win game against group leaders Germany in their final outing.

The first half almost started off with a bang for Ecuador. In the 2nd minute, Ecuadorian forward Enner Valencia found himself in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Eloy Room. What should have been a simple finish for the experienced forward instead became a great save by Room, as he predicted Valencia’s shot and was able to throw himself in front of the ball.

If you thought that the early chance was a sign that the match would turn into a goalfest like Curacao’s previous game against Germany, you clearly haven’t been following Ecuador. Although they had an impressive record at the qualifiers, much of their brilliance was concentrated in their defensive ability.

The defensive triangle formed by Pacho, Hincapie, and Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo have been a near unassailable wall at the back. However, as we saw in their opener against Ivory Coast, their attacking capabilities do not hold a candle to their strength at the back.

Curacao’s defenders that had struggled against the quick change of tempo in their game against Germany were more comfortable against Ecuador in that first half. However, that did not mean they had learned to completely deal with it, and all Ecuadorian attacks that looked dangerous seemed to be exploiting this weakness.

At the end of the half, it was clear that Ecuador’s patience in attack might run afoul as they seemed unable to finish any of their chances. On the other hand, Curacao definitely were satisfied in holding the favourites for an entire half, and they certainly saw this as a great opportunity to gain their first points.

As the teams lined up for the second half, it became clear that Curacao were lined up to prevent an Ecuadorian goal by any means. Head coach Dick Advocaat had decided to park the bus, and sacrificed their best options to score by substituting stars Tahith Chong and Juninho Bacuna. The decision to go ultra defensive paid off as it seemed that every time Ecuador attempted to build up, there were eleven men in the box.

As the game neared the 90th minute mark it became clear that today was just not Ecuador’s day. Time after time, their shots hit the post, went slightly wide, or were just deflected. However, their biggest deterrent came in the form of goalkeeper Eloy Room. Every time Ecuador managed to take a shot on target, he was there to keep the ball out of the net. With a ridiculous tally of 15 saves by the end of the match, Room became the goalkeeper with the most saves at the end of 90 minutes at a World Cup game.

He was also just one behind the all-time record of 16 saves by Tim Howard against Belgium in 2014. (For those confused, Tim Howard’s saves also came in extra time as it was a Round of 16 game.)

As the referee blew the final whistle, it was a momentous occasion for all those wearing blue in the stadium, and for everyone of their players on the pitch, as Curacao got the first ever points in a World Cup. It’s an incredible achievement for the tiny island nation to achieve points in their debut at the tournament, while also being put in a supposed ‘Group of Death’ for them.

Who knows? If Dick Advocaat can manage to tactically set his team up for Ivory Coast, they might even get a chance for a win and a potential run to the knockouts.

For Ecuador, this World Cup campaign has gone off to a terrible start. Proclaimed as potential ‘dark horses’ due to their defensive strength, the team has clearly shown that keeping a goal out is not as impressive if you can’t score even one.

In a game where they came in as heavy favourites, looking past Room’s performance, Ecuador simply could not achieve any type of finishing in front of goal. Questions must be asked about Enner Valencia, the veteran striker, as he was particularly poor in attack today.

The player’s reactions at fulltime showed that they clearly understand this was their best opportunity to secure a knockout position as they are now forced into a must win game against Germany. It will be an interesting matchup as Germany’s depth in attack is almost the perfect counter to Ecuador’s defensive ability.

However, it won’t matter if Caicedo and the rest of the backline lock up the German strikers if they don’t figure out how to put the ball in the back of the opponent’s net. Curacao will similarly face a must win game against Ivory Coast, who have proven to be an exciting and creative team going forward. They won’t find parking the bus to be as effective against Les Elephants as it was against Ecuador when they face them for their final group match on June 25.