Teenager Noahkai Banks’ position and passing have him on the US’s World Cup radar | USA

Last fall, Mauricio Pochettino seemed frozen. After numerous introductions, adjustments, elevations and demotions, his 26-man USMNT team for this summer’s World Cup had taken shape, and a surprise late inclusion seemed completely out of reach.

Not so fast. At the same time, Noahkai Banks became a starter in the backline of FC Augsburg and he did not give up this place in the five months that followed. Now it seems that if an as-yet undrafted outfield player is going to break into Team USA this summer, it will almost certainly be Banks, 19 and suddenly one of the most promising young defenders in Europe.

Born in Honolulu, Banks moved to Germany as a child, joined Augsburg’s youth academy and 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 over a possible summer transfer, but Augsburg will have a strong negotiating position; The banks’ agreement runs until 2029.

At present, Augsburg’s structure led by interim coach Manuel Baum could facilitate his acclimatization within Pochettino’s team. Banks plays on the right side of a centre-back trio, joining Cedric Zesiger and presenter Keven Schlotterbeck. Banks enjoys first-choice status partly due to injuries to captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Chrislain Matsima. He did not waste this extended opportunity.

In Baum’s system, Banks has the most license to advance upfield of the three defenders, helping his right-back get into the final third regularly. Banks proved to be a neat passer, looking to recirculate and able to fizz low balls to the opposite side of the court with pace and precision.

Given his wide central defender role, it’s no surprise that Banks lacks some of the upfield passing skills of his teammates. However, Banks was prolific in spreading distributions to his wing back, positioning himself in the right channel and dishing out a pass once defenders closed in.

Most of his best work on the ball comes with considerable time and open space around him, a by-product of playing wider and slightly further away from his goalkeeper. Banks regularly finds open pockets of space as an option for changes of possession from the left flank, with the instinct to dribble into open space as soon as he recovers.

“Noki can do some feints that a central defender doesn’t usually have,” Baum told Kicker after last Friday’s 2-0 win over Cologne. “He has great changes of pace in his game and he’s getting calmer and calmer.”

His willingness to attack open spaces and his composure on the ball clearly showed against Cologne. Returning to his usual open grass pitch, Banks collected a game-changing cross inside the center circle and quickly raced towards the final third. Cologne were a little late in converging, instead trying to clutter the box.

Banks wasted no time, rounding two defenders before playing a late cross to a waiting Rodrigo Ribeiro for a cool backheel finish.

The sequence proved crucial, breaking the deadlock 10 minutes into the second half. It was also Banks’ first assist of his burgeoning club career, one that validates much of his already considerable skill set, in keeping with the modern game’s mobile centre-back archetype.

That’s not to say Banks is the finished article. While his 63.5% win rate in aerial duels is in the 71st percentile of Bundesliga defenders, according to FotMob, he wins just 1.9 per game – a low result indicating he is not tested regularly. And even though he thrives in the art of running in space, he struggles to get around his opponents when dribbling; Banks has the lowest win rate (23.1%) of all Bundesliga regulars with at least one successful attempt.

Banks is sometimes caught out by fearless opponents on the break, who capitalize on the teenager’s relative lack of experience in timing his tactical errors. He leads Augsburg with seven bookings and missed their shock win over FC Bayern in January due to suspension.

An increasingly frequent target of Augsburg’s corners, Banks does not necessarily attack his opponents, but can hold his own in a tussle with his stability and vertical mobility – similar to Dean Huijsen’s salmon approach during his breakout with Bournemouth last season.

Augsburg’s next games will be among their toughest of the year, as they travel to second-placed Dortmund before fourth-placed Stuttgart travel to the WWK Arena just before the March international window.

United States or Germany?

Banks’ performances at club level have only intensified speculation about his international future. Having represented the United States at the U17, U19 and U20 levels, Banks (the son of a German mother) is also being evaluated for the German U21 team, according to Kicker, who added that he has not yet heard from Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Pochettino called Banks to a USMNT camp for the first time in September, despite not seeing the pitch in either friendlies. His possible World Cup wildcard status is somewhat reminiscent of John Brooks’ status over a decade ago; another German-American dual national who debuted for the United States in July 2013 before joining Jürgen Klinsmann’s tournament squad the following summer.

As in 2013, the United States looks a little thin in this position, which would be exacerbated if Pochettino’s team lined up with three central defenders. While Chris Richards continues to go from strength to strength with Crystal Palace and Mark McKenzie flourishes in France, long-time 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 ascendant status as Banks, and his impressive form in the Bundesliga would give him a credible argument to not only make the team, but have real potential to start in a World Cup. His interaction with a winger could be especially crucial given the offensive prowess of Sergiño Dest (or Alex Freeman, should Dest’s injuries multiply). Both could provide credible opportunity creation at more advanced positions.

For now, however, Banks emphasizes that he’s playing the long game as he weighs his decision between the United States and Germany.

“I’m still deciding,” Banks told Kicker last week. “I know there is a World Cup coming up. But I have a long career ahead of me, so I don’t want to make it depend on a single tournament. I don’t want to set a deadline, I take my time and I decide calmly.”