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%. It’s 200% but it’s good. 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. U.S. 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. Soccer J.T. 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. The list includes NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, who was the U.S.’ starting goalkeeper at the World Cup, but more intriguingly, Pochettino was able to watch the uncapped RBNY teenagers Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti. Both have played for the USMNT’s youth teams but are also eligible to represent other nations. Mehmeti was born in New York to Albanian parents, has played for both national teams at the U-15 level while fellow New York native Hall is the son of an American father and a Polish mother.
Hall has yet to formally rule out representing Poland, telling the New York Post this week that his international future is “definitely not solidified.” He wears his matronymic middle name, Zakrzewski, on his jersey in MLS games and the Polish Football Associaton has been pulbic in their pursuit of his allegiance. President Cezary Kulesza met with Hall’s mother Agnieszka in April in New York and presented her with a Polish jersey with Zakrzewski on the back, sharing the photo on social media.
He would not be cap-tied with appearances in the upcoming friendlies. November’s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals are the earliest opportunity for that to occur. Hall, who broke a 12-game goalless run on Friday, said the USMNT were the only ones who reached out to him for the upcoming window.
“No,” he said in response to whether or not Poland had been in touch. “I just wanted to take this opportunity that presented itself with the U.S. and when I go there, I’m going to do as much as I can to make an impact and do well.”
Pochettino, meanwhile, recognized that the 12 uncapped players who will join this fall’s USMNT camp seem just as committed as Hall is to starting their international careers strongly – and mentioned the emotion some felt at receiving the news this week that they would make the roster.
“When some young players received the notice that they were called for the first team, some players cried, [were] very emotional because [it] was their dream, because they decided to play for the national team,” Pochettino said. “What we want is that, is to feel that passion for every single kid that is going to join us.”
Pochettino also reflected on his own experiences representing Argentina from 1999 to 2002, a stint that included his selection for their 2002 World Cup team.
“It was a long time ago,” he said. “It’s still emotional for me. Every time when you talk about your country, about your badge, you need to feel this way. If you don’t feel this way, it’s difficult to give your best. Even to play for your national team, to play or to work in the federation, it’s because first of all, you need to love what you are doing. It’s not a business. For the player, the club is business. It’s a little bit business and care but the national team is about to play for this, and if you don’t feel that, it’s impossible.”
USMNT’s fall friendlies
All times U.S./Eastern)
- Sept. 26: USMNT vs. Peru (4:30 p.m., TNT)
- Sept. 29: USMNT vs. Chile (8 p.m., TNT)
- Oct. 3: USMNT vs. Mexico (10 p.m., TNT)
- Oct. 6: USMNT vs. Canada (8 p.m., TNT)
USMNT’s generational shift
Pochettino has described the first post-World Cup camp as a “fresh start” for the player pool as a whole, the first-of-its-kind four-game international window an opportune time to usher in a new generation of talents.
“I think it’s going to be good,” he said. “In that process, I think it’s perfect for us to know a lot of people. We are going to have time to spend with them. That point I like, and then it’s going to be tough because it’s four games. The last two are going to be really tough for everyone. I don’t really like [that], but for that moment, I think [it’s] good because for us, we are going to have nearly three weeks to be together and [get] to know the players [better]. That’s fantastic.”
He also praised MLS’ ability to foster young talent, since the vast majority of the 12 uncapped players in this month’s camp hail from the domestic league.
“MLS is very competitive, and I am so, so happy to say that because I know how they are working to try every single season [to] improve and improve and improve,” he said. “I think MLS is very competitive and it’s a very good level for the the young talent to start to build their career, and I think try to learn about [how] to be competitive and be close to the high level and then, of course, if you have the possibility to go to Europe but to play for the best teams there, it’s a big step forward but the thing is, at the moment, MLS, for sure, is going to improve in the next year. It’s a perfect platform for the kids to start to learn what [it] means to be professional and be competitive.”
The fall roster was naturally built with the 2030 World Cup in mind, but U.S. Soccer has also placed a heavy amount of emphasis on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The federation is targeting a gold medal in the men’s soccer event, a U-23 competition, and the bulk of the USMNT’s uncapped players are age-eligible – the 12 players awaiting their first cap, headlined by 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan of the Philadelphia Union, boast an average age of 19 years and six months.
“I think it’s really important for all our fans to know that we view these players as one big pool,” Batson said. “You’re not a part of the U-20s, the U-23s. You’re part of the U.S. national team program and different players are eligible for different competitions because of their ages and of course, we’re going to put players in a position to be successful as it relates to that but we view these – the U-20 World Cup, the Olympics, Gold Cup, Nations League, all of our games we play as an opportunity to prepare ourselves for 2030 and so we want everyone to embrace that and be as excited for those opportunities as we are.”
In accordance, U-23 head coach Steve Cherundolo will be working alongside Pochettino’s staff for the upcoming friendlies.
“I think it’s so important that we want to belong to that organization and be all together,” Pochettino said. “It’s going to be a group of people that are going to be involved in every single situation. Steve is going to be part of us, part of our staff. We are all the staff from the federation and he’s going to be involved with us but that is going to be very organic, very natural because that is the most important, like the players.”
Even as a new chapter that excites him and onlookers alike begins, Pochettino cautioned that first caps are not guaranteed to the young players, instead hoping to balance excitement for their potential with patience.
“Be careful,” he said. “They are still young, 17 years old. Relax. I think, of course, that they deserve [and] you need to pay attention [to] them but relax. I think we can’t expect that they behave like a senior player with 10 years’ experience [at a] high level. I think, little by little, we are here. That structure and that human [connection] is about to support and to provide good tools for them to keep the evolution and be better players and better [people].”
