Quesada’s selections: Faissal surprise, Trulla and Mori out

Every squad list is defined as much by the names that are in it as by the ones that are missing. And Quesada’s list for the Nations Championship, in the backs, leaves plenty to talk about. The surprise is called Malik Faissal; the omissions that will cause a stir are Jacopo Trulla and Federico Mori.

The surprise: Malik Faissal from the Under-20s to the senior side

Faissal, a fast-rising prospect fresh from the Under-20 Six Nations, skips the usual steps and finds himself straight into the senior squad. It’s a brave call, the kind that says a lot about the staff’s faith in him. DanPat, from the outside, admits he would have done it differently: he would have left Faissal to keep developing with the Under-20s and would have called up Trulla instead. A legitimate view, but with an honest caveat — the staff see the players every day and have a short-, medium- and long-term plan in mind that you can’t grasp from the outside.

The big omissions: Trulla, Mori and more

At full-back Jacopo Trulla misses out, as does Ange Capuozzo, who is busy with the closing stages of the Top 14 and was therefore not considered during preparation. In the centres, the most debated omission is Federico Mori: the toss-up, as DanPat reads it, was with Paolo Odogwu, and Quesada went for the man who is currently more embedded in the group and better suited to the game plan. A snub that stings on a personal level too.

The eye-catching return: Ion Neculai

If Faissal is the surprise call among the youngsters, Ion Neculai’s return is the curious note up front: the Zebre prop had not worn the Azzurri jersey since July 2022. A recall that reflects the search for depth in the front row, where Quesada wants reliable options for a window made up of three away trips in three weeks.

Decisions for a head coach, not for fans

The point, in the end, is this: from the outside it’s easy to redraw the list. But call-ups come from what the staff see in training, from form and from a plan that looks beyond a single window. The doubts over Faissal or the disappointment over Mori are fair enough; the fact remains that the decisions are made by the people who coach those players every day.

Read also:

• Quesada, i 33 per il Nations Championship: chi c’è e chi manca
• Tommy Allan torna in azzurro: il segnale verso il Mondiale

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