Pafos FC suffers narrow defeat against Red Bull Salzburg in Europa League qualifier

Pafos FC faced a challenging away match against Red Bull Salzburg on August 6, 2026, in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. The match, held at the Red Bull Arena, was significantly interrupted by a two-hour delay due to heavy rainfall, resulting in a game that lasted nearly four hours. Despite a resilient performance and missed scoring opportunities by Drăgușin and Lelê, the Cypriot side conceded a goal in the 88th minute from Tabaković. Additionally, Pafos finished the match with ten players after Sema was sent off in stoppage time due to a second yellow card.

Manager Ricardo Sá Pinto had to manage a squad affected by injuries to players such as Zazá and Correia, while welcoming back Anderson Silva to the European squad list. Following this 1-0 loss, the team now looks toward the return leg, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 13, at 20:00 at the Alphamega Stadium in Limassol. The winner of this tie will advance to the Europa League play-offs to face the loser of the Mjällby and Slovan Bratislava match, while the loser will enter the Conference League play-offs to meet either Auda or Dinamo City.