Detroit Tigers closer Kenley Jansen said he was too wired to sleep after Curacao’s historic 0-0 draw with Ecuador in its first World Cup appearance on June 20, a shutout fueled by goalkeeper Eloy Room’s record 15 saves.
For Kenley Jansen, it wasn’t just a result on a screen. It was the feeling of pitching—translated to another sport—hitting him so hard he couldn’t switch his brain off.
Jansen. the Detroit Tigers closer and Major League Baseball’s active leader in career saves. admitted he never expected much from Curacao’s first World Cup run. What he didn’t anticipate was a night that ended with Curacao locking up a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on Saturday. June 20—and starting a new kind of nervous joy that kept him tossing and turning.
Curacao’s match produced its first World Cup point in history. and the foundation for it came from goalkeeper Eloy Room. Room made 15 saves in the shutout, setting a record for saves in a World Cup shutout. Curacao was peppered throughout the game, but Room kept the door closed, save after save, until the final whistle.
Jansen described the night as adrenaline that wouldn’t let go. “I couldn’t go to sleep, because my adrenaline was so up,” he said, according to MLB.com, about a game that began with his 485th career save and ended with him fully locked in on soccer.
He also said his belief didn’t arrive all at once. “I was surprised, man. I didn’t believe it until it got to 80 minutes. I was like, ‘Oh shoot, we might get a point here.’”
Room’s World Cup performance mattered beyond the final score. Jansen has been around elite competition for years, including representing in the World Baseball Classic in 2017 and 2026. He knows what it takes to play at the highest level—and he watched Curacao step onto soccer’s biggest stage only after the island nation started competing as a standalone entity in 2010. Curacao qualified for its first World Cup this year.
Room also isn’t a stranger to professional environments. He played five seasons for the Columbus Crew and is currently a goalkeeper for Miami FC’s USLC entry. Curacao. though. still has a long way to go to match the dominance of the Netherlands baseball team—one that has twice reached the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic.
Even back home, the moment landed with the kind of emotion that sports fans recognize instantly. Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas checked in with Jansen after attending the match. with Jansen recalling the conversation in terms that sounded familiar to anyone who has ever been asked to explain a pressure inning.
“He’s like, ‘Do you see how we feel now when you’re pitching?’” Jansen said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah. I get that. I don’t know whether to stand or sit, when to use the restroom. I got a headache with that one.’”
What stayed with Jansen after June 20 wasn’t just the draw. It was the shared, physical certainty of high-stakes defense—the kind that makes time feel different and sleep feel impossible. Curacao got its first point in World Cup history. and in Jansen’s telling. the experience didn’t just translate between sports. It connected the pressure directly to the body.
Kenley Jansen Detroit Tigers Curacao Ecuador World Cup draw Eloy Room 15 saves record Major League Baseball saves Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas Columbus Crew Miami FC USLC
So Kenley Jansen’s mad he couldn’t sleep because soccer was 0-0? Sounds like regular sports anxiety.
I don’t get it… Curacao played Ecuador and it was 0-0 but somehow it’s “historic”? I thought World Cup points were only for like winning or something. Also goalkeepers always get all the credit anyway.
Kenley Jansen throwing saves, then watching soccer like he’s still on the mound is kinda funny. But also 15 saves is wild, like that goalie was basically a closer too. You can’t tell me that didn’t mess with his sleep schedule tho, adrenaline is real.
Wait Curacao got their first World Cup point ever from a 0-0 draw? I swear I read somewhere they already had points… anyway Eloy Room must be unstoppable. Also Kenley said he didn’t believe till 80 minutes, which like okay that’s exactly when the game turned into a thriller… except it was still 0-0 lol. Football and baseball just feels the same to me, everyone’s nervous at the end.