NEW YORK – U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino said he was already aware of defender Noahkai Banks' decision to represent Germany rather than the U.S. when his selection to Germany's U-21 national team became public on Friday, pivoting his focus to the players who are "committed" to his side as he oversees a generational shift of the player pool. The 19-year-old Banks, who plays for Augsburg in the Bundesliga, was born to an American father and German mother in Honolulu, but spent the vast majority of his life in Germany. He represented the U.S. at the youth levels and was called into the senior national team camp in Sept. 2025 for friendlies against South Korea and Japan but did not play.
Pochettino was in contact with Banks over the last year and said last week that the player was still undecided. Banks has since accepted a call-up to Germany's U-21 team for Euro qualifiers and filed a one-time switch in accordance. "Yes, he called us," Pochettino said Friday ahead of Red Bull New York's 1-0 win at New York City FC.
"He said, 'I decide to go for Germany.' Yes, that is a situation that we need to deal with. We want players that show commitment but commitment is not 50%. He was honest because every time that we contact[ed] him with the possibility to join us, he said, 'No, still in doubt.
I don't know if I want to pick USA or Germany,' and he was honest." Pochettino acknowledged the reality that not every dual national eligible to represent the U.S. will ultimately choose to do so, his focus instead on those who made the choice Banks did not. "We want players with no doubt," he said. "We want players that are commit[ted] and desperate to play for the badge and play for us, and that is the most important thing.
Of course, it's a thing that we need to deal [with] because we are in a country [where] that happens often but I think that organization is so strong. Soccer is an organization that is [above] any player, any name, any dual national and I think [what] is the most important that the player [has] no doubt when [they] join us, [there's] no doubt that they want to die for that chance." U.S. Batson echoed Pochettino's statements.
"I think for us, we want players who want to represent their country and represent U.S. Soccer and our job is to give them the best platform to do that and we know that there are millions of kids who are waking up every day in this country who are desperate to play for their national team," Batson said. "it's our job to create an environment where they flourish and I know that wherever you live around the world, if you want to represent the U.S., you want to give it your all and you're good enough to play, we want you." Friday's MLS match, which Pochettino took in while sitting alongside ex-Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, offered the USMNT a glimpse at three of the 28 players who will join him for this fall's friendlies.
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