The USMNT coach has taken a father-figure approach to 19-year-old Augsburg defender Noahkai Banks, while legend Landon Donovan issued a blunt ultimatum regarding the teenager’s hesitation
Noahkai Banks, the 19-year-old centre-back currently thriving at FC Augsburg, has officially declined a call-up to the United States men’s national team for their upcoming friendlies, as he appears to be waiting on Germany to hand him a senior debut.
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino revealed last week that he has been in constant contact with Banks, but that the player is “not yet ready” to commit his international future as interest from the German Football Association (DFB) intensifies.
Born in Hawaii to an American father and a German mother, Banks has spent the majority of his development years in Germany.
While he has been a mainstay in the US youth system and was part of the senior squad’s September 2025 camp, he did not see the field, leaving him eligible to switch allegiances.
“He still has not yet made the decision. He’s thinking a lot,” Pochettino said. “He’s in a situation that is not easy for him. We are very focused on him because we follow him. He’s in the pool of players that we follow. In the moment that we signed the contract with the US men’s national team, I think we started to work to identify talent and young talent.
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“If he made the decision and the decision is to be with us, of course, he is going to be on our radar to see if we will select him or not. But at the moment, he was very clear in the situation that he is not available to be selected because he still has not made the decision.”
Landon Donovan on Noahkai Banks’ USMNT snub
While Pochettino opted for a diplomatic approach, USMNT icon Landon Donovan offered a much sharper critique of the teenager’s hesitation.
During a recent episode of his podcast, the all-time leading scorer for the United States expressed a good-riddance sentiment toward any player who views representing the country as a secondary option.
“If someone does not want to play for your country, goodbye,” Donovan stated. “And I’m not mad at him. He can make his decision. But now, I don’t care about you anymore. I don’t.”
This comes just weeks after Donovan had tipped Banks to be a starting centre-back for the USMNT at the 2026 World Cup.
With the tournament only months away, Pochettino’s current roster for the March window is thin on starting-calibre centre-backs. Beyond 2025 US Male Player of the Year Chris Richards and veteran Tim Ream, the pool has been hit by a string of injuries and inconsistent club form.
