Renard's men were buoyed to victory by a Wilfried Bony brace - the Manchester City signing scoring either side of Algeria's El Arbi Hillel Soudani.
Gervinho sealed their progression in Malabo with a goal deep into second-half stoppage time.
Renard conceded their North African opponents were better, but said they failed to capitalise on their chances.
"In terms of football, ball skills, Algeria was better than us," said Renard, as reported by L'Equipe.
"We must be clear with ourselves and do not be too good, find the most effective tactic against a team that plays on the ground and the best use of set-pieces.
"But that is not our fault if Algeria has not been good in this area.
"It was the team that played well in the tournament, but [we won] 3-1.
"We will not say sorry to have won."
Algeria boss Christian Gourcuff echoed Renard's words.
"This is not the best team won. In terms of the game, we could not fault the team, apart [from] efficiency," Gourcuff lamented.
"The Ivorians have not had many opportunities. This is not deserved."
Gourcuff also rued the quality of the pitch, and said their own fate could have been different had they not conceded late to lose to Ghana and finish second in Group C.
"We did not put enough pace in our passing game. There was also the condition of the pitch... it's cruel but football is a matter of efficiency," he added.
"But if we play the game 10 times, you do not lose it 10 times, obviously.
"[One] regret that we should have is the goal we took against Ghana. It would have saved us to meet Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals."
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