Inside the opening three minutes, Ecuador forward Enner Valencia raced through on Curacao's goal. About 10 yards out and with just the keeper to beat, he looked certain to score. It would give Curacao a mountain to climb - and, as it did in the 7-1 defeat by Germany in their World Cup opener, possibly set the tone for what was to come.
But goalkeeper Eloy Room anticipated where Valencia's shot was headed, stooped low to his left and clawed the ball around the post. It was an improbable, barely believable save.
“Eloy Room's record-equalling 15 saves gave Curacao their first World Cup point in a 0-0 draw with Ecuador.”
By full-time, BBC Sport pundit and former Arsenal defender Martin Keown was joking a calculator might be needed to tot up the number of times Room had bailed his team out. Room, the 37-year-old Miami FC keeper, produced a remarkable and record-equalling performance, making 15 saves to keep his country level and eventually secure a goalless draw which will live long in the memory of the island nation.
Since records began in 1966, no goalkeeper has made more stops in 90 minutes of World Cup action, according to Opta. Only Tim Howard has made as many in a single game but, unlike Room, he failed to keep a clean sheet after conceding twice in extra time for the USA against Belgium in 2014.
Room joked after the 0-0 draw that Howard would have been "sweating at home" watching the game and his performance means he "needs a statue in Curacao". "Take a bow, Room," added Keown on BBC One. "Absolutely magnificent."
Watched by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in the stands, the Curacao goalkeeper etched his name into the pantheon of World Cup legends. Room – who spent most of his career sitting on the bench for clubs in the Eredivisie – came within one save of matching Howard's all-time record of 16 from 2014, although that included extra time. "I still have to process it myself," said Room, who revealed that he had received a congratulatory kiss from Queen Máxima in the changing room afterwards. "I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't get the record in the end but I think Tim Howard was sweating a bit."
Advocaat, who stepped down in February due to his daughter's health concerns before returning last month and who is the oldest manager at a World Cup finals, was in tears at the final whistle. "I'm so proud," he said. "We have come from nothing and they fought like lions. It will be a big party on the island tonight and they deserve it."
For Ecuador, who left the field to jeers from their fans as Curacao's players congratulated theirs, it was another performance to forget. Their head coach, Sebastián Beccacece, said: "There are things you cannot explain in football – we've had 27 shots on goal but we couldn't score. It is normal to feel this pain but we still have a chance to put things right."
The fact Curacao are even in the competition has a lot to do with Room, as he made a crucial save in a 0-0 draw with Jamaica which secured their qualification in November. Patrick Kluivert was manager of the Blue Wave in 2015 and it was the former striker who called former Netherlands Under-21 international Room to convince him to play for the country where his father is from.