Senegal, who have four points, failed to qualify as they finished third behind second-placed Japan with the same amount of points. They exited the tournament after picking up more yellow cards than the Asian side throughout the tournament.

"This is football, we haven't qualified [for the round of 16] because of the fair play rules, but still I'm very proud of my team. Today Senegal haven't qualified because we don't deserve it. This is one of the rules, we have to respect it. We would have preferred to be eliminated in another way, but, as I said, it's a pity for us," Cisse told journalists.

The referee had overturned his original decision to award a penalty to Senegal after consulting the video assistant referee (VAR) system in the 17th minute. The head coach added that he had doubts about this decision.

"We could have scored in the first half. We just had to use our chances to score. Besides, we weren't awarded a penalty, and I would like to get explanations regarding VAR. In general, we controlled the game in the second half. I'm disappointed that my players won't play in the knockout stage. But they have a good future, I'm sure," Cisse said.