All posts tagged: Curacao World Cup

15 saves in 90 minutes! Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room sets World Cup record

15 saves in 90 minutes! Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room sets World Cup record

Published by Webster

2 min readJun 21, 2026 08:18 AM IST Just days after Curacao’s horrific initiation with a 1-7 drubbing at the hands of Germany in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the smallest country to ever qualify for the quadrennial tournament redeemed themselves through their goalkeeper, Eloy Room. The 37-year-old brickwall as at the heart of Curacao’s inspired second Group E appearance in a goalless draw against Ecuador at the Kansas City Stadium on Saturday night. The Netherlands-born goalkeeper remained unflinching as Ecuador launched an avalanche of attempts at the target and a whopping 27 shots in all, taking away a World Cup record in only his second appearance for the most shots saved in regulation time. Room’s display also marked the second-highest ever saves in a World Cup appearance by a goalkeeper in the record books. ALSO READ | Deniz Undav: From machine operator at factory to Germany’s World Cup hero Saving 15 shots through the night, the Miami FC goalkeeper’s performance handed Curacao their first World Cup point in only their second appearance in the …

Curacao’s moment in global spotlight spoiled by German ruthlessness

Curacao’s moment in global spotlight spoiled by German ruthlessness

Published by Webster

4 min readJun 15, 2026 08:44 AM IST Before the World Cup began, a video of the Curacao team went viral. In it, the players are arriving in an old-fashioned blue school bus with no windows, players sticking their arms out and banging away on the metal exterior from the outside. The video was meant to portray the down-to-earth vibe of the team headed to its first ever World Cup. “That’s who we are and always will be: infectious enthusiasm, joy, carefree spirit, and fear of no one,” Livano Comenencia told La Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview. On Sunday, all of those qualities were on display from the smallest nation ever to compete in the FIFA World Cup. Facing Germany in their World Cup opener, Curacao were dreaming of their campaign taking flight in Houston, the space capital of the USA. For a brief phase, fans and players even dared to daydream of an upset over Germany. Never mind that the World No 82 ranked nation was playing the first-ever game in the country’s …

Curacao – blue curacao mixer, FIFA debut and a teetotaler coach in Dick Advocaat

Curacao – blue curacao mixer, FIFA debut and a teetotaler coach in Dick Advocaat

Published by Webster

It’s a heady cocktail, goes the cliche. But Curacao, in the former Dutch West Indies Company account books, with fewer than 2 lac people, has made the World Cup the first time. Curacao will now forever be known for its heroic football team. But well before that, Blue curacao liqueur that distinctive blue mixer used to rustle up Blue lagoon or Blue Hawaii, owed its origins to a bitter orange that took a liking only to this unique island. Significantly, the laraha citrus fruit had skin-deep value. The flesh was too bitter and cannot be eaten, but the peel could be dried for an aromatic orangey oil extracted by — Dutch distillery Bols company. This was turned to liqueur, called ‘cream of the sky.’ The blue color was added – solely for effect. It was easily the first time you might’ve heard the name Curacao. The football team had a different Dutch connection. It is coached by Holland”s Dick Advocaat now on his 28th international football team at age 78. He has coached as much …