Sadio Mane said Senegal were 'frustrated' after drawing 2-2 with Japan in their second World Cup game on Sunday.
The Liverpool forward opened the scoring with a fortunate goal, with the ball bouncing in off his knee following a goalkeeping error.
That was the first time Senegal took the lead, doing so again through Moussa Wague in the second half, but Japan levelled twice to earn a point, leaving Mane to lament the dropped points.
"Of course, we were frustrated," Mane said afterwards. "We wanted to win and we didn't, so it's normal to be frustrated. We faced a very good team who created many chances and scored two goals.
"There was a way to win this match. We scored, they equalised. We created some chances, we scored, and they equalised again."
Qualification for the second phase remains in Senegal's hands: if they beat Colombia in their final group game on Thursday, they will be guaranteed a place in the knockout rounds.
"We have another important game, we need a positive result to qualify for the second round," Mane said. "We know it's in our hands. It's an important game, and we will work for a positive result."
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse placed the blame on his teams' defence for letting Japan equalise twice and said he expected more from Kalidou Koulibaly and Salif Sane.
"Of course there are regrets but we must say we didn't see a great Senegal team tonight compared to the previous match against Poland," said Cisse. "Despite the fact we were leading twice, what is annoying for me is the two goals we conceded."
"All I know is at this level of competition with the players we have today, who are world-class, these were avoidable goals. That is crystal clear."
Though he did not elaborate on the lapses, the comment was particuarly true of the Keisuke Honda tap-in that made it 2-2, after full-back Moussa Wague had put Senegal ahead for the second time.
"The best team on the pitch was Japan, we have to admit," said Cisse, who as captain led Senegal to the quarterfinals in 2002. "We were getting the ball and then we were losing it... I thought there were a lot of technical errors, too many."
And he also expressed worry about the degree to which Japanese striker Yuya Osako had been able to put pressure on his defence.
"Whether it's Sane or Koulibaly, they're great players. I think they were perhaps less good today," he said. "We're going to work on that. Koulibaly needs to show his qualities, and Sane the same."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.