Might a Costa Rican protest be in the works?

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – My Spanish-language skills are limited, and I would never attempt to translate something and then put it out to the rest of the world. Walter Cronkite and other journalistic giants would certainly not approve such a dicey gambit.

On the other hand, mastery of the language is hardly required to know that Costa Rican manager Jorge Luis Pinto was not happy about the decision to continue Friday’s surreal match at Dicks Sporting Goods Park.

I sat in on the Costa Rican post-game news conference late last night at DSG Park and picked out a few words of scorn aimed at match officials, words like “embarrassment.”

According to MLSSoccer.com, Pinto said: “We’re going to ask about it. When you can’t see the lines on the field, the game should automatically be stopped.”

(MORE: the choices and decisions that went on Friday)

It was clear that Costa Rican officials wanted the match stopped … and equally clear that the Americans wished to go on. U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann said there was “no way” he would let the match be halted by Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar.

There a lot more in the MLSSoccer.com report, including indications that the Costa Rican federation may protest. Bottom line, the Costa Rican players, coaches and officials were all upset. Presumably, they’d be a lot happier if they, rather than U.S. man Clint Dempsey, had scored that early goal, before conditions deteriorated to the point where scoring approached something impossible.

I cannot see any scenario where FIFA or CONCACAF officials would order a replay, but I will check with U.S. Soccer as soon as possible.

The United States team canceled a practice session set for today in snow-covered Denver. They will do a gym workout instead and then fly to Mexico City on Sunday morning.