Wayne Rooney the star attraction as USMNT takes on England 

If someone in particular in the US hears about this, then there are going to be tweets. 

The glorious US men's national soccer team is over in Europe today and is going to be treated as nothing more than pace-fillers for the official send-off of a player that wasn't much good for the national team in the first place.

The occasion began as a international friendly between the USMNT and England, World Cup semifinalists - worthy opponents indeed for whomever happens to be in the charge of the US team at the moment. 

But then the idea came along across The Pond that Wayne Rooney should be thanked for his almost zero contribution to the England team over the years with a guest appearance, a good two years since his 'retirement' from the team.

To be fair, as one beIN SPORTS colleague of Sports Burst noted, Rooney is still better than anything currently in the US roster, having had a storming spell with DC United. What's more, the footballer will only be a substitute in a team that comes from wiping out Spain in its last appearance. Oh, what a nuanced world we live in. 

Find out what USMNT LEGEND Jimmy Conrad makes of all this in a special guest appearance on the Sports Burst live show at 12PM ET / 9AM PT on the beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page.

The glorious Nations League returns!

The beloved UEFA Nations League is returning to bedazzle us all. 

Remember the madcap concept from those Euro-egg heads? Europe's nations divided into four tiers based on their rankings and then subdivided into four groups. Those teams play each other and supposedly important things happen. 

On Thursday in League A, Group 1, Belgium is playing Iceland for the honor of staying first in the group. It's also a chance for Marouane Fellaini to see how the new afro-free hair feels.

Group 4 has Spain taking on Croatia, a team whose form has gone off a cliff since a World Cup final appearance. Spain's form went off a cliff during the World Cup, so at least the visitors have better timing.

The teeniest match-up of the day is probably San Marino taking on Moldova way down in League D. 

Catch the best of all the action of the day including a tasty dust-up between Germany and Russia on the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT. 

Arsene Wenger waiting to take over Bayern Munich 

Here's a curious story from the Daily Telegraph in England.

Claudio Ranieri was not the first choice to take over struggling Premier League outfit, Fulham. The Italian was officially appointed as coach of the London club on Wednesday.

Instead, it was reportedly Arsene Wenger but the Arsenal stalwart turned down the job offer hoping that he might be able to take the possibly soon-to-be-vacant role at Bayern Munich. 

Niko Kovac is barely hanging on at Bayern, having lost to Borussia Dortmund at the weekend to top off what has been a sorry Bundesliga campaign so far for Hollywood FC. 

More bad news for Benjamin Mendy 

Bad news on Thursday for possibly the happiest person on the planet. Not that it will stop his social media activity anytime soon. 

Manchester City defender, Benjamin Mendy, is set for a spell on the sidelines after undergoing an operation on the cartilage on his left knee. The defender was due to be hooking up with the French national team, but instead went under the surgeon's knife. 

There is no return date for the flying French fullback who missed seven months of action last season with a knee injury - but on the other one, this time.