Jamaica’s junior Reggae Boyz have made a strong start in their quest to secure a third appearance at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. They ran out 3-1 winners over Group H rivals St. Lucia in their opening match at the CONCACAF Under-17 Qualifiers in Guatemala, taking a crucial first step towards reaching the World Cup finals later this year.

Seymour Reid opened the scoring early for Jamaica in the 12th minute, setting the tone in a tentative encounter. In the second half, Dario White doubled the lead in the 50th minute, before Jahmarie Nolan sealed the win with a goal in the 54th minute. St. Lucia fought back with a goal from Shevon Bryan in the 63rd minute, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the U-17 Reggae Boyz from claiming all three points.

Assistant Coach Vassell Reynolds shared his thoughts on the game, acknowledging the initial nervousness from his players. “Your first game can be very tense, and the boys were a bit tentative. I thought that’s exactly what happened in the first half. We didn’t execute as well as we should have, particularly in front of goal,” said Reynolds. “We also felt we should have maintained possession a little longer during certain periods of the game. However, in the second half, we got it together, and I thought we had a very good first 25 minutes. Overall, we’re not totally pleased with the performance, but the objective was to win, and we achieved that. We set a target to win all three of our group games, so we’re satisfied with the result.”

Looking ahead, the junior Reggae Boyz will face the Cayman Islands on Wednesday, February 12, before closing out the group stage against El Salvador on February 15. El Salvador currently leads Group H on goal difference after an impressive 8-0 victory over the Cayman Islands in their opening match.

In other notable results from the tournament, the United States demolished the U.S. Virgin Islands 22-0 in Group F, while Cuba came from behind to defeat St. Kitts 3-1. Honduras and Puerto Rico also secured victories in Group D, while Panama and the Dominican Republic dominated Group G with commanding wins.

The eight group winners from the CONCACAF qualifiers will secure a coveted spot at the u-17 World Cup which will be held in Qatar from November 5 to 27.