Noahkai Banks chooses Germany over USA in U-21 call-up
Noahkai Banks has chosen Germany over the United States.
The 19-year-old FC Augsburg defender was named in Germany's Under-21 squad for the final round of European Championship qualifiers. Manager Antonio Di Salvo said Banks and fellow prospect Louey Ben Farhat have "chosen to represent Germany", adding that Germany had been in contact with both for a while and had laid out a future pathway for them The Guardian.
Banks was born in Honolulu to an American father and German mother. He has played international football only for US youth teams so far, including the Under-17 World Cup in 2023.
At club level he is already a regular. Banks played 23 league matches for Augsburg last season, almost all of them starts. He has started and played the full 90 minutes in all four of Augsburg's games so far this season as of 18 September.
His US story stopped just short of a senior cap. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino called him in for friendlies against South Korea and Japan in September 2025. Banks stayed on the bench for both, a 2-0 defeat to South Korea and a 2-0 win over Japan.
He then turned down a call to the US camp in the March international window, the last camp before the 2026 World Cup, as reported by ESPN. Banks told Bild he wanted to focus on the start of the club season and knew he had to decide by the next break, or the one after at the latest. Earlier in September 2026, Pochettino said the US federation had stayed in touch and Banks remained in the same position as before the World Cup.
To play for Germany, Banks will need a one-time switch, FIFA's single allowed change of national team for eligible dual-nationals. It is required here because the Under-17 World Cup counts as an official FIFA competition.
The immediate stage is the Under-21s. Di Salvo has named seven debutants in all: Frank Feller, Banks, Laurin Ulrich, Francis Onyeka, Wael Mohya, Paris Brunner and Ben Farhat DFB. Germany face Latvia in Riga on 26 September at 18:00 CEST, then Malta in Attard on 30 September, before finishing against Georgia in Bielefeld on 6 October.
Germany lead Group F with 18 points from seven games, ahead of Greece on head-to-head, the record in matches between the tied teams. Six players missed out through injury: Dennis Seimen, Nnamdi Collins, Assan Ouedraogo, Anton Kade, Ilyas Ansah and Nelson Weiper. Di Salvo said injuries and the larger senior squad shaped his selection.
The prize is a place at the Under-21 finals in Serbia and Albania. The nine group winners plus the best runner-up qualify directly. The other eight runners-up go into play-offs for the final four places.
For fans, this means a shared story now splits in two. American supporters lose a young centre-back who looked close to a breakthrough. German supporters gain one who is already playing week in, week out in the Bundesliga.
