This week in Moldova is new territory for a club that has seen it all and won it all, but when it comes to European football, there are few worlds left for Manchester United to conquer. However, they are venturing into new territory this week in Moldova.

United have now competed in a game in all 33 of the countries that are members of UEFA, despite the fact that they would have preferred not to have deviated from Europe's west-leaning Champions League in order to do so. United's fans have at least been able to expand their horizons thanks to another season spent competing in the Europa League, which has resulted in a fresh passport stamp and the opportunity to see a different arena.

This game is being played in Chisinau, not in the breakaway region of Transnistria, but Sheriff Tiraspol has demonstrated that they are not easy targets. Although they are not particularly well-known in Moldova outside of their enclave near the Ukrainian border — which is why the decision was made to move the game to the capital — they are responsible for putting football on the map in this country.

They have won their domestic championship in 20 of the last 22 seasons, and they won the Champions League by defeating Real Madrid in the Bernabeu last year. Sheriff, a company that has business interests in a variety of industries in Transnistria, is the primary financial backer of the club. The region is technically considered to be a part of Moldova; however, it views itself as an independent state and receives support from a government that is controlled by Russia in Tiraspol.

Due to the fact that they are participating in a European competition, the team is unable to play their home games at their 12,700-capacity home ground, which is named, not surprisingly, Sheriff Stadium. They will play United at the Zimbru Stadium in Chisinau, which is the capital of Moldova and is located an hour and 20 minutes away by car. This stadium has a capacity of 8,800 spectators.

Fans from Nice and Cologne confront one another prior to their Europa League match.

On Wednesday, Sheriff wrapped up their preparations for the game in Tiraspol, and they will travel to the capital today. They may not receive a warm welcome from the people who live there.

This stadium is normally used by FC Zimbru, who are traditionally Moldova's most successful club. However, since Sherrif began their reign as the dominant team in the league in 2000, FC Zimbru has not been able to win the championship. While most of Moldovan football is in the midst of a never-ending fight for financial stability, Sherrif's squad reads like a league of nations and they hav

Dumitru Celeadnic, a goalkeeper who is 30 years old, is the only Moldovan who has appeared for them in European competition this season. Players hailing from the countries of Ghana, Brazil, Bosnia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Nigeria, and Mali are included on the team.

It would appear that the diverse backgrounds of the members of the team are beneficial to Sheriff. They may have lost to the Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen in the third round of Champions League qualifying, but they won 3-0 away at Omonia Nicosia last week, and Sheriff is the player who will capitalize if United make a mess of this group.

Because of this, this fixture is not only unique but also significant. Because there is a gap of one month between Premier League matches, United's manager, Ten Hag, is not likely to take any risks with his lineup because the club cannot afford to make any mistakes.

The team had a workout at Carrington on Wednesday morning before departing for the flight to Chisinau, which would take approximately three and a half hours. Yesterday evening, Erik Ten Hag and David de Gea gave the media their first look at the stadium by holding a press conference there at approximately 7.45 o'clock in the evening local time.

United will have 600 fans present inside the Zimbru Stadium, marking yet another outpost on the club's travels throughout Europe. On Wednesday, some of them were seen wandering around the perimeter of the crumbling ground. Graffiti from the bad boys ultra group of FC Zimbru was adorning the concrete walls.

A tower block that was built during the Soviet era and overlooks one side of the ground has seen significantly better days than it does today. On the other side of the street is a school, and the students there are very enthusiastic about United's visit. One individual who was leaving the stadium on Wednesday while wearing the colors of the local club yelled "Go Manchester United" to the reporters from the English media.

Even though Sheriff will be playing at home, the majority of football fans in Chisinau will be watching United because, as is so often the case, they are the most exciting team to watch. One of the locals who attended the press conference for Manchester United said that the football fans in the area were waiting with bated breath to find out if Cristiano Ronaldo would be included in the traveling squad and that they erupted in wild celebration when it was confirmed that he would be.

Given that Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial won't be playing, it's almost certain that the 37-year-old will get the nod in the starting lineup. However, when a journalist from Moldova asked Ten Hag if he could give the locals the information about the team that they wanted, he declined.

He apologized and said, "I'm sorry, but the fans from Moldova will have to wait until tomorrow."

Another journalist wanted to know if the United players would stick around after the game tomorrow to sign autographs, which would give the impression that this contest was part of the preseason. Ten Hag told them that he sincerely wished they could, but that due to their tight schedule, they had to immediately return to Manchester via flight.

This had been the case all throughout the trip over here. Ten Hag and De Gea went directly from the airport to the ground for their press conference, where they held court on a raised pedestal in an old school gym that is part of the complex housing the stadium. When asked for his thoughts on a nation about which he had very little experience, De Gea demonstrated all the qualities of a consummate diplomat.

He said, "We've been here for half an hour, but it already seems like a great decision; the weather is nice, and the people are very nice."

"We are thrilled to be here, and we hope to put on a fantastic match tomorrow so that everyone in attendance can take pleasure in it."