Meet Noahkai Banks, the teenage Bundesliga starter making his case for Mauricio Pochettino's World Cup roster

With the World Cup just four months away, much of coach Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. roster has fallen into place. Barring injury, it’s going to feature Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and the others who have formed the foundation through friendlies and tournaments the past six months.

Sure, questions remain about several of the 26 slots, but when the Group D opener against Paraguay kicks off June 12 at SoFi Stadium, a comforting familiarity will prevail.

There is, though, an intriguing candidate without any senior international matches on his portfolio — a Hawaiian-born, German American teenager standing 6-foot-4 and starting at center back in the Bundesliga.

Noahkai Banks has been invited to exactly one U.S. training camp and been in uniform for one match. It’s not exactly World Cup material. But as Pochettino narrows his player pool, Banks is the apparent lone prospect (aside from those vying for third-string goalkeeper) without any national team game experience.

One last training camp, featuring high-end friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta late next month, remains on the calendar before Pochettino selects his 26-man squad in May.

Pochettino will post his March roster in five weeks. Chris Richards and Tim Ream anchor the central defense corps, with Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson and Auston Trusty deep in the mix. Will the 19-year-old Banks receive an invitation next month?

Despite no caps to his name, he’s got a strong case. Each of his past 15 appearances for Augsburg has been as a starter, and he has played in 17 of 21 Bundesliga matches this season.

Pochettino has called him a “massive talent.”

Since his only call-up in September, Banks said “you're always a bit in touch with the national team. It doesn't have to be Pochettino in person, but the national team in general.”

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Pochettino’s effusive comments about Banks got back to the player.

“I've read it because my mom has sent it into the family group chat; she reads everything,” he said Tuesday during a video call with reporters. “It has been a great compliment, but I know I have to work a lot to get there. I know I'm not there yet.”

With the March camp on the horizon — and the last chance to make a first-hand impression on Pochettino — Banks said he has not given much thought to a possible call-up.

“A lot of people always think that as players, we think about what's happening there and there,” he said of international duty. “But for me, it's really important to just focus on the games, because I know if I play well, the rest will come by itself. So it's really about focusing on the next game for me and playing as good as possible, because the rest will follow.”

Beyond Banks’ capacity to help the U.S. right away, Pochettino must weigh another consideration: keeping Banks in a U.S. uniform. Even though he has played exclusively for U.S. youth teams, including the 2023 Under-17 World Cup squad, he remains eligible for Germany. 

“I've been in touch with Germany before, to be honest,” Banks said. “You can’t tell what happens in the future, but at the moment, there's not a thought of switching because I'm happy with the U.S.”

He called the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia “one of the best experiences in my life.”

Banks’ only senior call-up came in September. He wasn’t in uniform against South Korea and was on the bench (but didn’t play) against Japan.

“I was pretty nervous when I got into camp, because I was 18 years old at the moment, so I thought maybe the older guys will think, ‘Who's that? What is he doing here?’” Banks said. “But it was great, to be honest. It was incredible. Players like Pulisic, [Tim] Weah helped me a lot.”

Pochettino also provided guidance.

“Because he has been a center back back in the days, he knows the position very well, and he has helped me with small details like positioning and stuff like this — just the small things which make the difference at the highest level,” Banks said. “He gave me some tips, and I hope I can do what he told me in the future.”

Weeks after Banks’ first senior camp, his plans to play at the U-20 World Cup were dashed by Augsburg, which declined to release him because the tournament fell outside an official international window. With Banks still finding his way at Augsburg, Pochettino did not invite him to the October and November camps.

Like many U.S. players over the years with multiple eligibility, Banks’ father is a former U.S. serviceman and his mother is German (and Spanish). They met when Banks’ mom, Nadine, came to the United States to attend college and play basketball. (“She tore her ACL three times,” he said.)

His father Cedric’s military commitments took him to Hawaii, where Noahkai was born. The family then lived in the Washington, D.C., area for a few years, and after his parents separated, Noahkai moved with his mother to Germany.

“I traveled to America a lot of times to visit my dad or my dad's family side,” he said. “My dad was in the military for 25 years, and now he lives there [in Washington] and he helps kids from the street.”

He grew up in the Bavarian town of Dietmannsried, near the borders with both Austria and Switzerland, and at age 7, entered Augsburg’s youth system. His development carried him to the club’s under-19 squad and then the second team in the German fourth division.

He idolized Germany’s Jérôme Boateng, a fellow center back. “Also [Lionel] Messi,” he said with a smile, “but he's not in my position. That's the most obvious answer, because he's just the best player of all time.”

Banks’ first-team debut with Augsburg came in January 2025, and he finished the season with eight appearances (three starts).

This season, Banks has worked his way into the starting lineup. He is sixth on the team in minutes played and ranks second or third in passing accuracy, long-ball accuracy and tackles per 90 minutes. (He’s also first in yellow cards, which resulted in a suspension for 13th-place Augsburg’s upset of first-place Bayern Munich recently.)

“It has been a great year so far, because I didn't expect to play that much, to be absolutely honest,” Banks said. “The coaches have given me a lot of trust, a lot of minutes. From time to time, I got more confident with the team, with my teammates, with the players, with the tactics.”

Augsburg has been in the Bundesliga since 2011-12 but hasn’t finished in the top 10 since 2014-15.

Banks said he balances his German and American backgrounds.

“I have both in me,” he said. “It’s a mix.”

He has a fondness for U.S. entertainment, particularly during these cold winter months.

“‘The Equalizer,’ ‘Man on Fire,’ because I love Denzel Washington,” he said. “He's my favorite actor. Kevin Hart [too]. All kinds of movies. I'm watching a lot because the weather is just bad.”

The weather will be a lot warmer in the U.S. this summer, when the World Cup takes place. That, though, remains far back in his mind.

“It's not the right moment to think about the World Cup for me, because we have a lot of games left here [at Augsburg],” he said. “We want to win those games because we have goals for the season. So I really just focus — because a lot of players say it, but I really mean it — I really just focus on the games we have here.

“Then,” he added, “let's see what happens in the summer.”