'Good Riddance': Landon Donovan Goes Off On Dual-National Star For Hesitating On US Soccer

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is somehow just a few months away, and despite the United States being one of the host countries, the US Men's National Team isn't expected to seriously compete for a championship. 

But if the USMNT was to make a run deep into the tournament, their best hope would be bringing in the most talented group of players possible. One of those players is Noahkai Banks, a defenseman currently playing for FC Augsburg in the German Bundesliga. Banks was born in Honolulu to an American father and a German mother, making him eligible to play for either US Soccer or the German National Team. 

He's also quickly established himself as a rising star in international soccer. In late 2024, he was worth an estimated €150,000 in transfer fees, per Transfermarkt. As recently as October 2025, his value had increased to €10 million. Now? It's risen to €22 million, and growing rapidly. 

That already puts him in a tie for the 8th most valuable US player, and he's just 19-years-old. Banks has played for the US several times in his youth career, and was invited to the UMSNT March camp ahead of the World Cup and player selection process. Makes sense, right? Well, Banks turned down the invite, apparently deciding whether to stay playing for the US or move to Germany. And Landon Donovan is not happy about it.

Soccer player and coach Landon Donovan. (Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images)

Landon Donovan Wants Players Who Are Excited About USMNT

Donovan, speaking on the "Unfiltered Soccer" show recently, said as far as he's concerned, Banks should be out of the US program for good. 

"From the federation’s standpoint, and particularly Matt Crocker, who makes these decisions, if someone does not want to play for your country, good riddance," he said. "Goodbye. And I’m not mad at him. He can make his decision. But now, I don’t care about you anymore. I don’t." 

He continued, saying he has no ill will toward Banks, and that it's his decision if he feels "more German" to play for them. But the USMNT roster should be exclusively for people that want to represent the USA.

"I don’t care about Noahkai — if he does not wanna play for the U.S., totally fine. I get it," Donovan explained. "If he feels more German, I’ve always said, make the decision where you’re passionate. Clearly, if he wanted to be a part of the U.S. team — he’s been in many camps, Tim. He’s been in camps. He’s been in youth camps. The federation has been on him for a long time. And this whole notion of us, like, begging him to play for our country is bulls***."

There's a lot of truth to that. If players aren't committed to the USMNT, they should play where they are committed. If Banks believes, as is likely the case, that his best chance of winning a World Cup or getting the coaching, training, and exposure he needs to become a world-class, and highly expensive player, is with Germany, go play for them. 

That said, the US program needs more stars. It needs more high-level players to truly be competitive with countries like France, England, Spain, Germany, or Brazil. Those teams all have multiple players, at any given time, who would be the best to ever play for the US by a significant margin. England's market value as a team is $1.62 billion. The US roster is $351 million. Players like Banks, who've already shown immense talent and growth at 19, are exactly the players the USMNT needs. Hopefully, he actually cares enough about his home country to continue playing for us.