Noahkai Banks commits to Germany, dealing blow to USMNT's World Cup hopes

The United States' long-running pursuit of dual-national defender Noahkai Banks appears to be over. The 19-year-old FC Augsburg centre-back was named in Germany's U-21 squad for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers, with manager Antonio Di Salvo confirming that Banks and fellow dual national Louey Ben Farhat have “chosen to represent Germany”.

Born in Honolulu to an American father and a German mother, Banks had until now represented only US youth national teams, including at the U-17 World Cup in 2023. Because that tournament is an official FIFA competition, he would need to file a one-time switch to represent Germany at senior level.

Recruited by both nations

Banks has emerged as one of the Bundesliga's top young defenders, featuring in 23 league matches for Augsburg last season — almost all of them starts — and he has started and gone the full 90 minutes in all four of their games so far this season. That form has made him a prized asset in a tug-of-war between two federations.

“We've been in contact with [Banks and Ben Farhat] for a while now and had focused our efforts on them,” Di Salvo said in an official release. “I'm very pleased that we have been able to lay out a future pathway with Germany for them and that they agreed with it.”

Mauricio Pochettino called Banks in to the senior US teams in September 2025 for friendlies against South Korea and Japan, but Banks did not get off the bench in either game — a loss to South Korea and a win over Japan, both by 2-0 scorelines. ESPN later reported that Banks turned down a call-up to US camp in the March international window, the last before the 2026 World Cup.

World Cup timing

Even so, Banks was thought to stand an outside chance of making Pochettino's World Cup squad, given the team's lack of depth at centre-back and a relative shortage of top-level young options coming through the system.

“I told both [the US and Germany] that I just wanted to concentrate on the start of the season now,” Banks told Bild. “But I know that I have to decide by the next international break or at the latest by the international break after next.”

Pochettino told reporters earlier this month that the federation had remained in touch with Banks along with other dual nationals, saying that Banks was “still in the same situation that [he] was before the World Cup when we talked”.

Had Banks chosen the US, he probably would have been in the squad for the upcoming four-game international window. Instead, Pochettino has leaned on youth in his selections, which include 18-year-old Philadelphia Union centre-back Neil Pierre. Banks still has the USMNT tagged in the bio section of his official Instagram account — one would expect that to change soon.