In February, Seymour Reid was helping the Reggae Boyz Under-17 in their push to qualify for the World Cup. Though unsuccessful, he now has the opportunity to help the senior team qualify for next year’s World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

The 17-year-old has joined the Reggae Boyz 26-man squad who will take on Curacao and Bermuda in the Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers, starting on Friday.

Reid has been making a name for himself in 2025, particularly with Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City FC (NYCFC). After impressing for the youth team, Reid was promoted to the senior ranks and became the club’s youngest ever debutant. He created further history last month when he became the second-youngest scorer in the history of the MLS in NYCFC’s 3-1 win over Chicago Fire.

Reid was also dominant for the young Reggae Boyz after winning the golden boot at Torneo Del Sol in Mexico, scoring six goals and netting three times in the Concacaf Under-17 Championships.

Now with the senior Reggae Boyz, Reid is elated to be part of the set-up.

“That news is just a dream come true, to be honest,” he said. “At 17, senior national team, it’s just different. These players here, the quality they have — it’s just different and at 17, it’s an amazing feeling.

“Wearing the national colours for the first time for the Under-17 was a dream come true, also. We didn’t get the result that we wanted at the end of the day but that experience was wonderful, it was top.”

Despite being the youngest member of the squad, the teenager says he’s already settling in.

“Day one was pretty calm,” he said. “The players are really good teammates, [I] tried to get involved as quickly as possible. Day one was a good day, to be honest.”

Reid left Jamaica at nine years old and moved to the USA where he was enrolled in the Cedar Stars Academy in New Jersey. He believes that played a crucial role in his development.

“It was a good transition — Cedar Stars, they guided me,” he said. “The coaches there, amazing coaches, they trusted me a lot and they saw that I had the talent to take it further in my career and they wanted to push me more and more,” he shared.

Reid will now be competing for a spot in the team with the likes of his idol Shamar Nicholson. However, he’s remaining grounded as Jamaica eyes consecutive wins over the next week.

“Just taking it game by game,” he said. “Our next game, we’re just trying to get that three points and then move on from that, but looking forward to it.”

Jamaica can seal qualification to next year’s World Cup with wins against Curacao on Friday and Bermuda on Tuesday.

— Daniel Blake