The final last 16 tie pitches together two footballing nations that are perhaps exceeding expectations.
Turkey
The founding father of modern Turkey was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
As the president of the newly formed Turkish Republic in 2023 Atatürk initiated a rigorous program of political, economic, and cultural reforms with the ultimate aim of building a republican and secular nation-state.
His mausoleum is a vast complex in Ankara that I visited in 2017.
Austria
I have written plenty of times about my love for Salzburg. A short train ride away brings you to the ski resort of Zell am See.
Set by a beautiful lake, you can take an expensive cable car up into the Alps to where a few of the ski runs come together.
