Ståle: Make or break vs Piast Glawice

F.C. Copenhagen manager Ståle Solbakken admits Thursday's UEFA Europa League qualifier with Piast Glawice has taken on great significance.

FCK head into the game having beaten IFK Gothenburg 2-1 in Sweden last weekend to reach the third qualifying round.

"It is a make or break match for us that we must win," Ståle said.

"We know there is only one game to settle it, but we are coming up against a well-organised and sensible defensive team that is going to make it difficult for us."

FCK will host Piast in Parken Stadium on Thursday, with the victor progressing to the playoff round.

And Ståle is keen to forget about the Lions' opening two defeats to the Danish Superliga season.

"The match is completely independent of what has happened in the Superliga, where we started with a really bad half in Odense, but since then have performed better, but the results have not been good enough," he said.

"I think we delivered a good performance against Gothenburg, which was a more difficult task than many thought. There the players showed great mental strength and we did not let ourselves crash out of Europe, thanks to the resilience we showed against adversity when we came back after a single mistake."

"Our patience may be tested again versus Piast, and it is important that we remain calm and not let ourselves be stressed. If we can, then we are likely to be the better team."