Defender Noahkai Banks has finally made a decision about his future, and it will not be in red, white, and blue. Today, it was announced that Banks accepted a call-up to the Germany U-21 national team and will file a one-time switch to represent Germany moving forward.
One of the biggest recruitments in quite a while for the United States Men’s National Team was for the 19-year-old Augsberg defender. He had represented the United States on the youth international level, with 12 caps combined at the U-17,
U-19, and U-20 levels. Born in Honolulu to an American father and German mother, he was being sought after by both the United States and Germany to represent them on the senior international level.
Banks was called into USMNT camp last September for matches against South Korea and Japan. Banks didn’t make an appearance in either match. As he was debating over his decision, in recent months he had declined call-ups from both the USMNT and Germany, including for pre-World Cup USMNT friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in March. He had stated a couple weeks ago that he planned to make a decision on his international future by the end of the calendar year. With the acceptance of the U-21 Germany call-up, that decision is made.
“We’ve been in contact with both of them for a while now and had focused our efforts on them. 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,” Germany U-21 coach Antonio Di Salvo said of Banks and Louey Ben Farhat, another dual national who had been deciding between national teams. Di Salvo went on to say that the two players have “chosen to represent Germany.”
Because Germany will be playing in qualifying matches for the U-21 Euros during the September-October window, Banks will file for a one-time switch to be eligible to play for Germany moving forward. Once that switch is approved, it cannot be reversed. Many American fans viewed Banks as a potential future centerback on the USMNT that had the game to play now as the team begins its World Cup cycle. Now, head coach Mauricio Pochettino will have to move on without Noahkai Banks in the player pool.
