Leyton Orient, Boyd missed a penalty which would have given Salford the lead. Boyd announced his retirement from playing professional football on 28 October 2021. International career England C Boyd was called up for the England C team in October 2005 and played in a European Challenge Trophy match against Belgium under-23s He subsequently played in two more matches in the same competition. He played against Italy in February 2006. He then scored his first goal for England C in a 4–1 win against Holland XI in November 2006 in the final match of the competition. Scotland Boyd was called up for the Scotland B team on 30 April 2009, after obtaining documentary proof that his maternal grandfather was born in Glasgow. Boyd started and subsequently scored in a 3–0 victory against a Northern Ireland B team, scoring the second goal of the match, giving a performance described as containing "flair and commitment". Boyd received his first call-up to the senior team on 7 March 2013, when he was named in manager Gordon Strachan's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Serbia. He earned his first senior cap in a 2–0 away defeat to Serbia on 26 March 2013. Boyd started the match, playing the whole game at the Karađorđe Stadium in Novi Sad. Style of play Initially deployed solely as a winger, Boyd has been used in central midfield positions as his career has progressed. Boyd prefers to play "in the hole" because the position allows him to get more time on the ball. He has expressed his willingness to "play anywhere" to help the team, believing his versatility across the midfield and attacking areas to be one of his main strong-points. Under former Peterborough United manager, Jim Gannon, Boyd was given a "free-role", playing across the midfield and behind the strikers. Gannon believes that Boyd is at his best when he "is saved from doing defensive work that wingers may have to do", and as a result, during Gannon's time at Peterborough, was deployed just behind the strikers as part of a 3–4–1–2 formation. He is predominantly left-footed, and scores the majority of his goals with his left-foot, but is also comfortable using his right. During his time at Stevenage, Boyd earned the nickname "The White Pelé" – this was due to his use of tricks, as well as the flair Boyd brought to