Room: I always believed that Curaçao would qualify
Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room recounts his country's incredible journey to World Cup 2026 and the excitement for this year's extravaganza.
Room is one of the longest-tenured players on the Curaçao national team
The Caribbean island are making their first appearance in the World Cup
The veteran shot-stopper spoke to FIFA about their epic qualification
It was a massive moment for Curaçao. The opponent was Jamaica. The stakes could not have been higher. Just 90 minutes separated the Blue Wave from glory.
Yet this wasn’t the final matchday of the final round of Concacaf qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, it was the final of the 2017 Caribbean Cup. Curaçao, which only became a FIFA member nation in 2011, was playing for their first trophy. Nobody could have imagined on that June 2017 night that a little more than eight years later the southern Caribbean country would send shockwaves around the globe with their maiden World Cup qualification.
But Eloy Room always believed. The Curaçao goalkeeper has been through it all in the last decade with his national team. There was a surprising run to the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-finals, followed by a last-minute withdrawal from the 2021 tournament due to Covid. Two years ago Curaçao didn’t even qualify for the Gold Cup group stage, yet here they are now among the 48-team elite to feature in the biggest bonanza of all.
Speaking recently with FIFA, Room recounted Curaçao's incredible journey to World Cup 2026 and what they hope to achieve in the global showpiece.
Eloy Room: A lot of happened in those 10 years, but the main goal was the same. The whole reason that I chose to play for Curaçao is that I had a dream as a little kid to make it to the World Cup with Curaçao. When [Patrick] Kluivert contacted me to play for Curaçao, first of all, I was really honored that Kluivert called me because he's a big legend. I was surprised but also really proud. It was a proud moment for me and my family. I was one of the first guys who chose to play for Curaçao as a professional. Kluivert said if I can get a player like you to join this project, it will attract a lot of other players.
When I was young, we went there for vacations to see family. It was always a special moment to go there. The island is beautiful. It’s a warm feeling when you go there and I always feel at home. I still have family living there. Obviously, my father's from there. My mother also lived in Curaçao for a lot of years when she was younger. We have a deep connection with the island, so I'm so happy to give something back to the people and put Curaçao on the map. And now I think almost everyone in the world knows what Curaçao is.
It was a really important moment in our journey. We won the Caribbean Cup against Jamaica, and that was actually the first prize we won as a federation, so that was a huge thing. We had never qualified for a major tournament, so the Gold Cup for us was like the World Cup. It was really a big moment, the whole island was celebrating that. I think from then on it was a confidence boost for the whole team.
A really big impact. I’ve known Remko for a long time. He's from the island. My father knew him. He’s always had a strong connection with the island. He always knew a way to trigger us, to give us that motivation to give him the extra step. He is one of the cornerstones of the national team. It was a difficult phase because we had a lot of backlash from the Curaçao media for not getting any results in our first Gold Cup. Remko was always putting himself in front of the team with the criticism and I really appreciate the work he did for Curaçao.
No… I think that added energy was different. We played mostly good games, and we had some good results, but that was a statement against Jamaica at home. That was also a blow for them. They were a little bit stunned. I know some of the players from Jamaica, so I spoke with them and they were so stunned, but we were not surprised about it. For us, it was a huge step forward to the World Cup and a huge confidence boost.
It's hard because you're so focused on the game and everything you work towards it, but yeah, I had a moment before the game when I walked on the pitch, did the national anthems, looked around the stadium and saw that it was packed. I was in my mind thinking, ‘This is everything, it all comes together for this game’. I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself, but it was basically the most important game of my career. It also gave me a lot of joy and confidence. We had worked so hard for that. Me personally, it had been 10 years. I worked 10 years towards that moment and I thought I was ready for it. In my mind, there was no way we were not going to get result in that game.
I just closed my eyes and I thought about all the things we've been through. A lot of guys came to the team in the last two rounds or the last four games, so they were not there for the beginning. Sometimes I try to explain to the guys what happened in those early years and how everything is better. Now everything is organized. I always believed we would get to the World Cup. And we were always enjoying the national team. So yeah, for me, I just got a small flashback from the last 10 years.
The most important thing with him is that he's really straightforward. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad, it's bad. What you notice with Dick is that he’s so calm and confident. He tells us every time, ‘Listen, I believe in you guys. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.’ And if a coach with that status tells that to us, you'll run through a brick wall. He gives us so much motivation and so much confidence. He's also realistic. If you don't play a good game, he tells us that and says that it has to be better. He knows what level you need to bring if you want to compete in the World Cup.
Germany is a big country and a good team. But I think we're a really difficult team to play against, even for Germany. We don't concede that many goals. We have a lot of flexibility up top, a lot of speed, so every country has difficulties with that. And of course, we need to have a good day to get a result. But we're really confident. I know some players from Ecuador. It's a really strong team and their qualifying was also really good. The same with Ivory Coast, also really strong team in Africa, they dominated their qualifying group. It's a tough group, but they are going to be nice games. We worked so hard to be there, but we also want to show at the World Cup that we can get results.
Yes, they have a good plan and also a good future, so that's important. And also, for me, it's important to play a lot of games before the World Cup, because I want to be ready for that. I'm really excited about it.
[Laughs] I think it will be like when we came back to Curaçao after the Jamaica game and nobody was working on the whole island. Everybody was in the streets! I think during the World Cup, it will be a free day because everybody wants to see those games. It's going to be really special to see Curaçao compete on the highest level. It brings so much joy to the people and to the kids. People don't realize how small Curaçao is, and that as a tiny island you can qualify for the World Cup. I think that that sends so much confidence to the next generations. Now there are a lot of players, younger players, who are going to say, wait a minute, I can also go with Curaçao to the World Cup.