Ex-U.S. youth defender Banks chooses Germany over USMNT

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The German Football Federation announced on Friday that coveted dual-national defender Noahkai Banks has pledged his international future to Germany over the United States.

In a news release, Germany under-21 coach Antonio Di Salvo said that both Banks and Tunisian dual-national forward Louey Ben Farhat of Karlsruher SC have "chosen to represent Germany."

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"We've been in contact with both of them for a while now and had focused our efforts on them," Di Salvo said in a statement. "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."

The news of Banks' decision will come as a disappointment to the U.S. men's national team program, which remains thin at center back.

Banks previously represented the U.S. at the 2023 U17 World Cup, meaning he'll have to file a one-time change of association with FIFA in order to make his choice official. According to a FIFA portal tracking changes of association, as of Friday Banks' request hadn't yet gone through.

Banks, 19, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to an American father and German mother, but in an interview with ESPN in February, Banks' mother Nadine Kinkel said the family moved back to Germany when Noahkai was seven-weeks old. While Banks traveled regularly to the U.S. to visit his father Sedrick, he has lived in Germany most of his life, and rose through the ranks of FC Augsburg starting at age nine. Banks has so far made 35 appearances in all competitions for Augsburg, scoring one goal.

Following Banks' participation in the 2023 U17 World Cup, the USMNT maintained contact with Banks, and he appeared for the U.S. U19 and U20 teams. Those efforts intensified after his breakthrough with Bundesliga side Augsburg last season. Banks was called in by U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino for a training camp in September 2025, but didn't appear in matches against South Korea and Japan.

At the time, the outreach appeared to be paying off.

"I really enjoyed the camp, to be honest, because I thought as a young guy, maybe I will get treated differently," Banks told ESPN in February. "But how the guys helped me to get into the team and into the training, it was incredible, to be honest. Also, the big guys like Christian Pulisic or Tim Weah, we maybe don't expect it, but it has been great."

But Germany soon upped its recruiting efforts. Banks was thought to have a strong chance of making the U.S. roster for the 2026 World Cup, but he turned down an invite to U.S. camp in March. Banks later said he wasn't ready to make a decision on his international future, and thus ruled himself out of possibly playing for the U.S. at the World Cup.

As recently as last week, Pochettino said that he was still in touch with Banks and that nothing had changed in terms of the player making his decision.

"We are in contact with all the potential dual nationals," Pochettino said. "I think it's important for us to see, of course, because that is the connection, the human connection that is so important. Even if they, like in that case, [Banks] didn't change in his mind and is waiting; still no decision. And of course we cannot consider him for the next camp. That is the case."