What Is a Hat-Trick in Soccer? Meaning, Cricket Origins, Perfect Hat-Tricks & All-Time Records

Quick Answer: What Is a Hat-Trick in Soccer?

In soccer (association football), a hat-trick is achieved when an individual player scores three goals in a single match.

The goals can be scored in any fashion during regulation playing time or extra time—including open play, headers, direct free kicks, and penalty kicks. Goals scored during a post-match penalty shootout, however, do not count toward an official hat-trick.

Scoring a hat-trick is universally celebrated across world football. By long-standing tradition, the referee presents the match ball to the hat-trick hero after the final whistle, which is then signed by all teammates in the dressing room as a permanent souvenir.

The Historical Origin: Why Is It Called a "Hat-Trick"?

Although synonymous with football today, the term "hat-trick" originated in the English game of cricket during the Victorian era.

In 1858, English cricketer H.H. Stephenson took three consecutive wickets with three consecutive balls while playing for an all-England eleven against Hallam in Sheffield. To honor this unprecedented display of athletic skill, club officials passed around a hat and collected money from spectators to buy Stephenson a brand-new custom hat as a commemorative gift.

The phrase "hat-trick" was first printed in 1865 in an English cricket publication. Over the next several decades, as association football surged in popularity across Great Britain, sports journalists naturally adopted the popular phrase whenever a footballer scored three goals in a single contest.

Today, the term is celebrated in dozens of global sports, including ice hockey (where fans throw hats onto the ice), rugby, and lacrosse.

The "Perfect Hat-Trick": Right Foot, Left Foot & Head

While scoring any three goals is a remarkable accomplishment, football purists recognize an even rarer, elite feat: the "Perfect Hat-Trick" (also called the classic or golden hat-trick).

To achieve a perfect hat-trick, a player must score:

1. One goal with their right foot;

2. One goal with their left foot; and

3. One goal with their head.

The perfect hat-trick demonstrates the complete arsenal of a world-class striker—combining aerial dominance, bi-lateral shooting ability, and instinctive box positioning. Players like Robbie Fowler, Harry Kane, and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored multiple perfect hat-tricks during their illustrious careers.

In German and European football, an "unbroken" or "flawless" hat-trick (lupenreiner Hattrick) occurs when a player scores three consecutive goals in the exact same half of football without any other player on either team scoring in between.

Brace, Haul, Glut & Double Hat-Trick: Scoring Terminology

Football has developed a colorful lexicon to categorize high-scoring individual performances:

• A Brace (2 Goals): Originating from old hunting terminology for a pair of birds, scoring twice in a game is called a "brace".
• A Hat-Trick (3 Goals): Scoring three goals in a single fixture.
• A Haul / Poker (4 Goals): In English football, scoring four goals is commonly referred to as a "haul", while in Spain and South America, it is called a "poker" (borrowed from card games for four of a kind).
• A Glut / Manita (5 Goals): Scoring five goals is referred to as a "glut" in Britain or a "manita" ("little hand", representing 5 fingers) in Spain. Legendary examples include Lionel Messi vs. Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 and Erling Haaland vs. RB Leipzig in 2023.
• Double Hat-Trick (6 Goals): Scoring six goals in one match, an ultra-rare feat achieved by Syd Carter in 1930 and Erling Haaland for Norway U20s when he scored 9 goals against Honduras.

The Sacred Football Tradition: Keeping the Match Ball

One of football’s most enduring customs is the presentation of the match ball. As soon as the referee signals full time, the match official locates the game ball and hands it to the hat-trick scorer.

The player carries the ball into the locker room, where every manager, coach, and teammate writes personal congratulatory messages and signatures in permanent marker on the leather panels. The ball is typically displayed in the player’s personal trophy room as a career heirloom.

What happens if two players score a hat-trick in the same game? In rare cases where two players net three goals (such as in an 8-3 or 6-3 thriller), stadium officials ensure that a second official match ball is provided so both athletes take home an authentic game ball.

All-Time Hat-Trick Records (Pelé, Ronaldo, Messi & World Cup)

The modern era of football has witnessed astounding individual goalscoring numbers, led by two generational icons:

• Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi: Cristiano Ronaldo holds over 65 official career hat-tricks for club and country, leading all active players. Lionel Messi ranks closely behind with 59 career hat-tricks, including a joint-record 36 hat-tricks in Spanish La Liga history.

• Pelé (Historical All-Time Leader): According to official Guinness World Records, Brazilian icon Pelé scored an astonishing 92 hat-tricks across official matches and friendlies throughout his legendary career with Santos and Brazil.

• FIFA World Cup Final Hat-Tricks: Only two players in football history have ever scored a hat-trick in a Men’s FIFA World Cup Final: England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 against West Germany, and France’s Kylian Mbappé in the epic 2022 World Cup Final against Argentina.

For a complete dive into all-time goal records, explore our detailed guide on the most goals in football history.

The Fastest Hat-Tricks in Professional Football History

Hat-tricks can occur over 90 minutes or within a whirlwind blur of just a few minutes:

• Fastest Premier League Hat-Trick: Sadio Mané holds the record, scoring three goals for Southampton against Aston Villa on May 16, 2015, in an astonishing 2 minutes and 56 seconds.

• Fastest Champions League Hat-Trick: Mohamed Salah scored three goals for Liverpool against Rangers in October 2022 in just 6 minutes and 12 seconds.

• Fastest Professional Hat-Trick in World History: Scottish forward Tommy Ross scored three goals in just 90 seconds for Ross County against Nairn County in 1964.

• Fastest Substitute Hat-Trick: Robert Lewandowski scored 5 goals in 9 minutes after coming on at halftime for Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg in September 2015, scoring his hat-trick in just 3 minutes and 22 seconds.

For more fascinating football history, read our guides on the greatest Champions League records and how to improve football shooting accuracy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key queries regarding hat-tricks in soccer answered concisely: