Ecuador 0, Curaçao 0 in Kansas City — Ecuador generated 3.05 xG and couldn't put a single one away. Eloy Room made 15 saves across 90 minutes and delivered Curaçao the first World Cup point in their history.
Bush’s PicksPicks madeJun 25, 7:58 AM CT
-545ECU=CUW+1670
+135ECU -2.5✓CUW +2.5-135
Over 2.5✓Under 2.5
Best BetEcuador to win=
Postgame
Our bear hit — Ecuador couldn't score against Advocaat's disciplined bunker and the 0-0 nobody saw coming landed exactly as we warned, even though we still backed Ecuador to win.
Ecuador
+Ecuador out-created Ivory Coast and lost on a freak late goal. With Angulo adding directness and the same elite back three, a clean 2-0 type result is well within reach and probably mandatory.
−Same finishing problem, same low block to break down, plus the pressure of a tournament-saving game. If they don't score early, the anxiety in the stadium becomes the story.
Curaçao
+Advocaat is back, the squad has nothing to lose, and a single Bacuna set piece can change everything. Stay compact, frustrate Ecuador for an hour, and a draw is on the table.
−They got hammered in their opener and the defense looked overwhelmed. Without a clear plan to keep the ball at all, another big margin is very much on.
The final score was 0-0, and it wasn't particularly close in terms of what Ecuador did to themselves. They had the ball, the chances, and 3.05 xG — and Room turned away everything that came at him. Curaçao's goalkeeper made 15 saves in 90 minutes, a World Cup record, and earned the Blue Wave their first-ever point at the tournament. The result is a gut punch for Ecuador and a genuinely historic moment for Curaçao.
Ecuador did almost everything right and walked away with nothing. Enner Valencia was clean through inside 3 minutes and couldn't convert. Gonzalo Plata had a close-range header parried at a 69th-minute corner. Nacho Angulo — brought on specifically for this kind of moment in the 70th — fired from outside the box in the 79th and watched Room parry it again. In stoppage time, Ángel Preciado's cross hit the crossbar. This was not a performance short on effort or creation. It was a performance short on results.
Show fees
FT
Spread
Advance
Total
Ecuador(0-1-1)
0
-2.5
+135
-545
o3.5
+141
Curaçao(0-1-1)
0
+2.5
-135
+1900
u3.5
-141
In-Game
Whale Buys
Advance includes extra time & pens; spread + total settle on 90 minutes.
After losing to Ivory Coast on a late goal, Ecuador needed a bounce-back and didn't get one. They've played 2 group games and have 1 point, with Germany in the final matchday. Moisés Caicedo controlled midfield and the back three kept things clean on the other end, but the attack — again — couldn't finish. A win over Germany is the only path left, and that is a very steep ask.
Dick Advocaat set up a low block and Room did the rest. The Curaçao goalkeeper made 15 saves — a World Cup record for 90 minutes — stopping Valencia clean through in the 3rd minute, parrying Plata's header in the 69th, and keeping out Angulo's shot from distance in the 79th. That 15th save was the record-breaker. Room afterwards: 'It means everything, it feels like a victory. I am really proud. I think in 40 years I will remember this, it will be insane.'
Curaçao weren't purely passive — Tahith Chong squandered a three-on-two counter that could have made the story even bigger, and late on Galíndez had to make double stops to deny Leandro Bacuna and Livano Comenencia. The Blue Wave earned the first World Cup point in their history. Now they head to Philadelphia on June 25 to face Ivory Coast, knowing a win sends them through to the Round of 32.
The moneyline on Ecuador loses. We had the right bear narrative — Advocaat's bunker, Ecuador's finishing problems, a 0-0 nobody saw coming — but still backed Ecuador to win, and that's on us. Room's 15-save performance was genuinely historic and you can't model it in advance. The spread on Curaçao +2.5 covers easily since Ecuador didn't win the game at all. And the under 2.5 cashes clean with 0 total goals scored. The card goes 2-for-3 on picks, but it's the moneyline loss that stings.
The market priced Ecuador as heavy pre-match favorites and got 3.05 xG worth of validation on that read — just not the result. Both teams sit at 1 point heading into their final group games on June 25. Ecuador face Germany needing a win. Curaçao face Ivory Coast in Philadelphia with the same stakes. The advance markets have Ecuador at 18.5% to reach the Round of 32 and 6.5% to go deeper to the Round of 16.
Mexico0-2
Germany2-1
Curaçao0-0
Ivory Coast0-1