The goalkeeper was facing retirement as recently as December last year, but he has become a USL Championship hero after breaking the World Cup save record.
The first moment Eloy Room knew that something special had happened was when a kid approached him on the street. It was a boy, carrying a full book of Panini World Cup stickers. He implored Room, Curacao 's starting goalkeeper, to sign his card.
Room, of course, obliged.
Room used to be able to walk around the streets of Miami relatively unnoticed. He strolled the streets of South Beach, Brickell, and Calle Ocho with relative freedom. A couple of months ago, very few people could point to his native country on a map - never mind stop the man who had played for the team since 2015.
Yet now things are so, so different for the Miami FC goalkeeper. After tying the record for saves in a single game in an enthralling scoreless draw with Ecuador at the 2026 World Cup - and serving as the central star of a team that captured the hearts of so many - Room is now something of a local hero. Except, instead of playing in front of 60,000 fans in the biggest stadiums in America, he now practices his craft in front of 1,000 at the stadium used by Florida International University. Room has gone from the relative anonymity of second division soccer to the World Cup and back. Now, though, his profile has risen. The 37-year-old is now quite certainly the biggest star in USL.
"I wanted to put Curacao on the map. That was my main mission, for us as a team, as a nation, so that was the main task," Room told GOAL,before pausing. "Obviously I also played a good World Cup, so that also helps."
'For a lot of people, I was unknown'
The World Cup always brings about charming stories. There are relative unknowns that earn big transfers. There are bench players that score big goals, or deliver clutch moments. Room, though, is different. The 48-team World Cup has brought new faces to the fore. And on June 20, Room delivered what was, statistically, the best goalkeeping game of all time.
He made 15 saves for first-time qualifiers Curacao in a quite triumphant scoreless draw with Ecuador. In 90 minutes, he went from journeyman seeing out his career in South Florida to a unlikely World Cup star.
"I know for a lot of people, I was unknown. But I know my qualities, and I know what I can do. So I was not that surprised that I could pull off a game like that. But when you do it in the World Cup, the whole world is watching. It was good timing," Room said with a laugh.
The subsequent 24 hours were a whirlwind. The tie gave Curacao a chance - albeit a very slim one - of qualifying for the round of 32. But for Room, it was a launching pad into fame. He gained nearly a million followers on Instagram in just under a day. His DMs blew up.
"I started to realize that I gave a lot of people hope. I still get so many messages from people," he said.
'I was looking for a team'
Room might have actually been watching the World Cup from home. At the end of 2025, he was out of contract at Belgian club Cercle Brugge. The goalkeeper had made just two appearances in the cup. The team didn't re-sign him, and there were no offers on the table.
He moved to Miami with his wife, mostly because they really liked it.
"I was looking for a team, but I wanted to go back to America. So, basically my plan was for me and my wife to relocate to Miami anyway, because I love Miami, I've been here a lot, my wife has friends here," he said.
Room trained alone in South Florida, hoping that a club would come in with a decent offer. He had a solid resume.Room was born in the Netherlands , and spent the bulk of his career at Vitesse and PSV Eindhoven before moving to America in 2019. He was the starter for the Columbus Crew from 2020-2022. He was hoping for an MLS offer to come in, he admitted.
Instead, after toiling away by himself, Miami FC came in. They offered a two-year contract with an option for a third.
"It was perfect timing. I came to Miami and I played a lot of games before the World Cup, so it helped me get in shape," Room said.
And get in shape he did. Miami FC may have been founded in 2015, three years before MLS side Inter Miami, but they have since been overshadowed by Lionel Messi and the championship-winning club across town. Recent struggles on the pitch have only made it harder for Miami FC to break into the mainstream.
Still, the club's ambition appealed to Room. Miami FC has announced plans to build a 15,000-seat stadium and move into a state-of-the-art training complex, offering a clear vision for the future.
He loved the city. The club wants to go places. It just made sense.
"They showed me their plan and their ambition. So, I was like, 'You know what, let's do it'," Room said.
Room penned a deal at the end of 2025. He had played just eight games before leaving for the World Cup. Miami FC were off to a tidy start during his brief stint.
'We thought you wouldn't come back'
By the time he came back, they had held steady and were in a playoff spot. He returned, though, a different person. Room took just four days off between Curacao's group stage elimination from the World Cup. He barely touched his phone during that period, and spent time trying to decompress.
But the locker room responded with the obligatory banter all the same when he walked back through the doors.
"They were like: 'What are you doing here? We thought you wouldn't come back after the World Cup'," Room said.
By July 5, just 10 days after Curacao's World Cup campaign ended, Room was back on the pitch. He made three saves as Miami battled to a 1-1 draw against Birmingham Legion. Over 68,300 attended Curacao's final World Cup game against Cote d'Ivoire. The official attendance for Miami FC's fixture was listed at 606.
"I think there were less than 100 people in the stadium, to be honest," Room said with a laugh.
Room insists he treats a USL Championship game in the same way he would a World Cup group fixture.
"When I'm at the pitch, and I'm focused, I'm just in my zone - I'm goalkeeping. Of course it makes more sense if you play in the stadium with 70,000 people, but it keeps me maybe a little bit grounded," he said.
Either way, he is ready to go.
"Physically, I feel fit, so that's not a problem. But mentally it's just a quick turnaround to go from the World Cup, playing now here again, and the general things. I didn't have the time to process everything yet," he said.
'I want to do it again'
But it's hard to ignore his newfound fame. When Room looked at his phone following full time, his Instagram was still going off with messages, comments and words of encouragement. When he left the stadium, he received knowing looks and greetings that simply weren't there before.
"I got a lot of messages on social media from young kids, 12 years or younger, they say, 'Listen, you're really inspirational,' and I also think it's because of the whole story. We're the underdog, we're like the smallest nation in the World Cup," Room said.
And perhaps that's the broader point. Few had even heard of Curacao when they qualified for the World Cup. Now they gained global recognition. The same might be true for Miami FC, too (Curacao striker Jurgen Locadia is also on their roster). This once-struggling USL club might be "the place where Eloy Room plays.'
Or Room could go somewhere else. He is keenly aware that an MLS club could come calling. He insists that he has lots of football left to play. And even if he moves in relative anonymity for another four years, Room insists that he will be in the World Cup again in 2030. He will be 41 by then. He doesn't care.
"I know how it is now. I want to do it again," Room said.
