Leroy has Keshi's number

Congo head coach, Claude Leroy has exclusively revealed to supersport.com how he masterminded a stunning win for the Diables Rouges against African champions, Nigeria in September when both sides met in the reverse fixture of 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying.

The African champions were stunned 3-2 at the UJ Esuene stadium, Calabar on September 6 thanks to a goals from Prince Oniangue and Thievy Bifouma who bagged a double to render efforts from Efe Ambrose and Gbolahan Salami academic.

Leroy said hard work, attention to detail and complacency from the Super Eagles were a combination of factors that led to the unlikely result.

“I studied a lot before we faced Nigeria the first time. This is because Nigeria is at a much higher level compared to us.

“It was clear they had better players and to win, we needed to work very hard as a team.

“We watched a lot of videos of Nigeria together and analysed their strengths and weaknesses.

“I even had to procure a 100-page document used by France to defeat Nigeria at the round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup to help us.

“Also, on the day of the game, I think Nigeria relaxed a bit after they scored early. They assumed that they did not have to work too hard for the win and it was a mistake.

“The Super Eagles woke up in the second half and put us under a lot of pressure but we worked very hard,” he said.

The Frenchman is however still full of respect for Nigeria and believes Saturday’s game will not be easy for his charges.

“Nigeria is still a great side and they are coming (to Pointe-Noire) for a win.

“They have great players like (Vincent) Enyeama, (Efe) Ambrose, (Ahmed) Musa and (Emmanuel) Emenike who is very strong.

“But just as we did the first time, we have worked hard to study Nigeria,” he said.

Congo currently sits in second place of Group A of 2015 Afcon qualifying with seven points from four matches.

Nigeria are third with four points from four games.