Noahkai Banks will not be part of the U.S. men’s national team’s March roster and while he continues to ponder his international future, Mauricio Pochettino supports his decision whatever it ends up being. Banks turned down a call-up to Pochettino’s 27-player roster for upcoming friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. The 18-year-old defender had previously stated his wishes to keep open the option of playing for Germany.Born in Hawaii, Banks moved to Germany at a young age and has since become a first-team regular at Augsburg. He’s made 21 appearances for the Bundesliga side this season, scoring once and logging close to 2,000 minutes of playing time to date.While featuring for the USMNT this window wouldn’t have cap-tied Banks to the program, he continues to show interest in representing Germany if the opportunity presents itself. Pochettino admitted that he wouldn’t convince Banks in choosing the USMNT over Germany, supporting him in anyway possible.“He is a young kid, he was a bit unlucky when he was last called in because he was injured,” Pochettino said. “I can only talk about him like a father figure. He is thinking a lot, it’s a tough decision for him. He is in the pool of players and is always in our mind.“He made it clear that he wasn’t available for this window,” Pochettino added. “Assistant coach] Jesus [Perez] and I both have communicated with him. I really appreciate him and he is a good kid. We are supporting him, not trying to convince him. We want to show that the federation cares about him.”For now Banks will remain in Germany during the international break while Pochettino prepares his squad for their penultimate pair of matches before the FIFA World Cup. The USMNT will seek their first two results of 2026 after ending 2025 on a five-match unbeaten run.