Eloy Room

Curaçao's 37-year-old captain in goal and the human centre of their fairytale. Room was, by his own account, the first player to switch to Curaçao when Patrick Kluivert began building the diaspora project — "after that, more players kept coming." Ex-PSV and Vitesse, then Columbus Crew, he now plays in the second-tier USL Championship for Miami FC, making him one of the first USL players ever to appear at a World Cup.

His tournament is a redemption arc in two acts: he conceded seven to Germany on his World Cup debut, then a week later made 15 saves in a 0–0 draw with Ecuador — equalling the men's World Cup single-match saves record and matching Tim Howard's legendary 2014 display (Howard's 16 came after extra time, so Room's 15 is the regulation-time record). "For me as a goalkeeper, this is almost a perfect game."