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Last fall, Mauricio Pochettino seemed to be set. After numerous introductions, adjustments, elevations and demotions, his 26-man USMNT squad for this summer’s World Cup had taken shape, and a late surprise inclusion seemed totally out of the realm of possibility.
Not so fast. At that same time, Noahkai Banks became a starter along FC Augsburg’s backline and he hasn’t ceded that spot over the ensuing five months. Today, it seems that if any as-yet-uncapped field player is going to crack the US squad this summer, it’s almost certain to be Banks, 19 years old and suddenly among the most promising young defenders in Europe.
Born in Honolulu, Banks moved to Germany as a child, joined Augsburg’s youth academy, and has started 18 games for the first team this season. Only four of his teammates have played more minutes in the current Bundesliga campaign. Speculation is growing about a possible summer transfer, but Augsburg will have a strong negotiating position; Banks’ deal runs into 2029.
At present, Augsburg’s structure under interim boss Manuel Baum could ease his acclimation into Pochettino’s squad. Banks plays on the right side of a center-back trio, joining Cédric Zesiger and anchor Keven Schlotterbeck. Banks has enjoyed first-choice status due in part to injuries to captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Chrislain Matsima. He hasn’t been wasteful with the extended opportunity.
In Baum’s system, Banks is given the most license to advance upfield of the back three, helping his right-wingback enter the final third regularly. Banks has proven to be a tidy passer, looking to recirculate and capable of fizzing low balls to the opposite side of the pitch with pace and accuracy.
Given his wide center-back role, it’s no surprise that Banks lacks some of the upfield passing chops of his teammates. However, Banks has proven prolific at spraying distribution to his wing-back, underlapping in the right channel and doling out a pass once defenders near.
Most of his best work on the ball comes with considerable time and open space around him, a byproduct of playing wider and slightly more afield from his goalkeeper. Banks regularly finds open pockets of space as an option for possessional switches from the left flank, with the instinct to dribble into open space as soon as he collects.
“Noki can pull off some feints that a center-back doesn’t usually have,” Baum told Kicker after last Friday’s 2-0 win over Köln. “He has excellent changes of pace in his game, and he’s becoming increasingly composed.”
His eagerness to attack open space and composure on the ball was readily on display against Köln. Finding his usual open plot of grass, Banks collected a switch-of-play cross inside the center circle and quickly scampered toward the final third. Köln were a bit tardy to converge, instead working to clutter the box.
Banks wasn’t wasteful, rounding a pair of defenders before playing a late cross to an awaiting Rodrigo Ribeiro for a cool backheeled finish.
The sequence proved pivotal, breaking a deadlock 10 minutes into the second half. It was also Banks’ first assist of his budding club career, one that validates much of his already considerable skillset that’s in-line with the modern game’s archetypal mobile center-back.
That isn’t to say Banks is the finished article. While his 63.5% win rate in aerial duels is in the 71st percentile of Bundesliga defenders, per FotMob, he wins just 1.9 per game – a low output indicative that he is not regularly tested. And while he thrives at running into space, he’s struggled to bypass opponents on his dribble; Banks owns the poorest take-on win-rate (23.1%) of any regular Bundesliga starter with at least one successful attempt.
Banks gets caught out of position at times by intrepid opponents on the break, who capitalize on the teenager’s relative lack of experience timing his tactical fouls. He leads Augsburg with seven cards, and missed their shocking win over FC Bayern in January due to suspension.
An increasingly frequent target for Augsburg’s corner kicks, Banks isn’t necessarily muscling off opponents but can hold his own in a scrap because of his steady footing and his vertical mobility – akin to Dean Huijsen’s salmon-esque approach during his breakout with Bournemouth last season.
Augsburg’s next games will be among their toughest of the year, as they visit visit second-placed Dortmund before Stuttgart (fourth) visit the WWK Arena just before the March international window.
US or Germany?
Banks’ club performances have only escalated speculation over his international future. Having represented the US at the U17, U19, and U20 youth levels, Banks (the son of a German mother) is also being assessed for Germany’s U21 team, per Kicker, who added that he has not yet heard from Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann.
Pochettino called Banks into a USMNT camp for the first time in September, though he didn’t see the field in either friendly. His status as a possible World Cup wildcard is a little reminiscent of John Brooks’ over a decade ago; another German-American dual-national who debuted for the US in July 2013 before making Jürgen Klinsmann’s tournament squad the next summer.
Similarly to 2013, the US are looking a little thin at the position, which would be exacerbated if Pochettino’s team lines up with three center-backs. While Chris Richards keeps going from strength to strength with Crystal Palace and Mark McKenzie flourishes in France, longtime starter Tim Ream has struggled in Charlotte FC’s first two games of the MLS season.
Auston Trusty, Tristan Blackmon and Miles Robinson were also regular inclusions for Pochettino in 2025, but none of them have the same rising status as Banks, and his impressive form in the Bundesliga would give him a credible case to not just make the squad, but have real potential to start at a World Cup. His interplay with a wing back could be especially crucial given the attacking prowess of Sergiño Dest (or Alex Freeman, should Dest’s injury woes multiply). Both could offer credible chance creation in more advanced positions.
For now, however, Banks is stressing that he’s playing the long game as he weighs his decision between the US and Germany.
“I’m still deciding,” Banks told Kicker last week. “I know there’s a World Cup coming up. But I have a long career ahead of me, so I don’t want to make it dependent on one tournament. I don’t want to set a deadline; I’m taking my time and deciding calmly.”
