Noahkai Banks has accepted a call-up to Germany's under-21 team for Euro qualifiers, a move that points to a choice of Germany over the U.S. men's national team. Antonio Di Salvo said the 19-year-old defender has chosen to represent Germany.
That decision lands now because Germany's under-21 side has three upcoming matches against Latvia, Malta and Georgia, and Banks would need to file a one-time change of association request through FIFA before he can play in them. As of Friday morning, he was not listed in FIFA's online database of players who had filed that switch, and Sports contacted FIFA to ask whether the request had been submitted.
Banks brings a complicated international background to the move. He was born in Hawaii to an American father and a German-Spanish mother, moved to Germany as a young child after living in Washington, D.C., and has represented the United States at various youth levels. He also received one senior call-up last September, although he did not play in either of the USMNT's two September matches.
The new turn is sharper because it follows a recent contradiction in his own words. Banks said in February that there was no thought of a switch to Germany, then one month later turned down a call-up from the USMNT after saying he was torn over his international future. In March, Mauricio Pochettino said he called up Banks for two pre-World Cup friendlies and the defender declined the invitation.
Di Salvo said Germany had been pursuing Banks and another player for some time, and that both had agreed to a future pathway with Germany. The unanswered question is whether Banks has already taken the administrative step that would make the choice stick. If FIFA approves a one-time change of association request, the defender would be tied to Germany for good.
