Let's get this European campaign started!

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·4 August 2026

Let's get this European campaign started!

Third qualifying round home leg vs. Pafos FC

A third competitive match and a third competition. After a successful start in the Austrian Cup and the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, we now face our first European challenge this week. The mission: to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, for which we still have two qualifying rounds to go.

We can take the first step this Thursday at 19:00 CEST in our Q3 match against Pafos FC – the Cypriot Cup winners. David Luiz's team started one qualifying round earlier and, after a 0-2 first-leg defeat, staged a strong comeback to beat Hajduk Split 4-2 on aggregate. Domestically, coach Ricardo Sa Pinto's men will have to wait a little longer, as the Cypriot league season doesn't begin until the end of August

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Our opponent's history is short but fascinating. Most people probably only became familiar with the club last season, when Pafos put up quite a fight in their first-ever Champions League appearance. The Light Blues managed to secure an impressive nine points in the UEFA Champions League's league phase – only missing out on advancing due to a slightly inferior goal difference. If you'd like to learn more about our upcoming opponent, you can find further information in our OPPOSITION PROFILE.

Danny Röhl and our Red Bulls have already done their homework and know their opponents inside-out. With the confidence gained from two opening victories and the lessons learned from them, they are aiming for a third win in match number three – together with you in the stands!

Matchday info: everything worth knowing about coming to the stadium

Whether it's travel tips, Apple NFC ticketing, or the new kiosk offerings – our matchday info has everything you need to know for your visit to the stadium on Thursday!

to the matchday info

Injury news

Hendry Blank (ill), Anrie Chase (thigh), Stefan Lainer (heel), Johannes Moser (adductors) and Justin Omoregie (thigh) are unavailable for this match.

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They have a very experienced team, with an average age of around 28 or 29. Last year they also played very successfully in the Champions League, which shows that we are facing challenging opponents in the Europa League. We have gained energy and belief from the way we won against Hartberg, which will certainly help us on Thursday. With two wins and an 8-1 goal difference, we can call it a good start to the season. Now we want to build on that with a strong performance on Thursday.

Danny Röhl