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Any international footballer who shines at the World Cup is guaranteed to achieve iconic status and global acclaim, however, those who manage to plunder hattricks on the biggest stage are especially revered.
Whether it’s a precociously talented teen by the name of Pelé single-handedly dismantling France or Oleg Salenko burying five chances in a Group Stage dead-rubber, every World Cup hattrick has its own unique back story.
As part of our MansionBet.com World Cup series, we’re recounting the stories of all 54 players who have scored a hattrick in the tournament over the past century.
World Cup Hat-Tricks: A Brief History
Where else to start but with the first treble? The first hattrick at a World Cup arrived in somewhat surprising circumstances via young American forward, Bert Patenaude, who netted three times against Paraguay in the 1930 edition of the competition.
Indeed, the World Cups of yesteryear were generally more fertile hunting grounds for hattricks due to the rawness of the game, the lack of defensive organisation and existence of more maverick attacking antagonists.
Fast-forward to today and hattricks are rarer beasts, indeed, the relatively recent 2006 World Cup in Germany was the first edition to go without a hattrick hero in history and the last tournament, 2022 Qatar, produced only two, one of which was in the Final itself. More on that later.
World Cup Hattrick Records That Still Stand:
Youngest: At 17 years and 244 days old, Brazilian legend Pelé remains the youngest player to score a hattrick at a World Cup (vs France, 1958 semi-final).
Oldest: The evergreen prolific veteran, Cristiano Ronaldo, holds this accolade. He scored three times in one sitting for Portugal at the 2018 World Cup against rivals Spain.
Fastest from the start: This gong belongs to Austria’s Erich Probst. He netted three times inside the first 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia at World Cup 1954.
Quickest overall: László Kiss (Hungary) bagged his hattrick in just 7 minutes 42 seconds as a substitute against El Salvador in 1982.
Most goals in one match: This honour, of course, belongs to Oleg Salenko, who scored a sensational five goals for Russia against Cameroon at USA 94.
Double up: Four players have scored multiple World Cup hat-tricks. Sándor Kocsis (both in 1954), Just Fontaine (both in 1958) and “Der Bomber” Gerd Müller (both in 1970). Uniquely, explosive Argentine Gabriel Batistuta is the only player ever to score hattricks across two separate tournaments (1994 and 1998). Coincidentally, both were scored against debut nations (Greece and Jamaica) on the same date (21 June) four years apart.
The Complete List of Every World Cup Hat-Trick
Below, we’ve catalogued every single one of the 54 documented World Cup hat-tricks, grouped by tournament for easier reference. As we touched on earlier, the 2006 World Cup has been omitted from the list as no hattricks were scored during that edition:
1930 Uruguay – 3
- Bert Patenaude (USA) vs Paraguay, 3–0, 17 July – Group stage. The first-ever World Cup hat-trick, officially recognised in 2006. Patenaude hit six goals in total at that inaugural competition.
- Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) vs Mexico, 6–3, 19 July – Group stage. Stábile scored his hattrick on what was his international debut at the age of 25.
- Pedro Cea (Uruguay) vs Yugoslavia, 6–1, 27 July – Semi-final. Cea finished as the tournament’s second-highest scorer with five goals.
1934 Italy – 3
- Angelo Schiavio (Italy) vs USA, 7–1, 27 May – Round of 16. Schiavio’s opener against the Americans was Italy’s first-ever goal at a World Cup.
- Edmund Conen (Germany) vs Belgium, 5–2, June – Round of 16. Scoring in his first-ever World Cup match, Conen hit three goals in the final 17 minutes against the Belgians.
- Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) vs Germany, 3–1, 3 June – Semi-final. Nejedlý finished with the Golden Boot in 1934, having scored five times overall.
1938 France – 4
- Ernst Wilimowski (Poland) vs Brazil, 5–6 (aet), 5 June – Round of 16. “Ezi” became the first player at a World Cup to score four times in a single sitting before Poland eventually lost the game.
- Leônidas (Brazil) vs Poland, 6–5 (aet), June – Round of 16. The World Cup’s leading marksman that year, the striker scored three of Brazil’s goals in that 11-goal thriller against Poland.
- Gustav Wetterström (Sweden) vs Cuba, 8–0, 12 June – Quarter-final. The Swede scored thrice in this outing, though some historians have credited him with scoring four goals.
- Harry Andersson (Sweden) vs Cuba, 8–0, 12 June – Quarter-final. Wetterström’s teammate, Harry Andersson, also bagged a hattrick against the sorry Cubans in the quarters.
1950 Brazil – 2
- Óscar Míguez (Uruguay) vs Bolivia, 8–0, 2 July – Group stage. Only five players in history have scored more goals (27) for the Uruguayan national team than Míguez.
- Ademir (Brazil) vs Sweden, 7–1, 9 July – Final group stage. The attacker was a star turn for the runners-up and scored four times in one match against Sweden, eventually finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with nine goals.
1954 Switzerland – 8
- Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) vs South Korea, 9–0, 17 June – Group stage. Kocsis scored the first of his two hattricks in 1954 in a rout of sorry Switzerland.
- Erich Probst (Austria) vs Czechoslovakia, 5–0, 19 June – Group stage. The fastest hat-trick from the start of a World Cup fixture ever.
- Carlos Borges (Uruguay) vs Scotland, 7–0, June – Group stage. Borges completed his hattrick inside the hour mark against the Scots.
- Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) vs West Germany, 8–3, 20 June – Group stage. Kocsis delivered four goals for the Mighty Magyars in their incredible destruction of a strong West German outfit.
- Burhan Sargın (Turkey) vs South Korea, 7–0, June – Group stage. Sargin became a Turkish cult hero after his treble in 1954.
- Max Morlock (West Germany) vs Turkey, 7–2, 23 June – Group stage. A key member of the West Germans’ first World Cup triumph, Morlock scored one of the goals in a 3-2 revenge mission on Hungary in the Final.
- Theodor Wagner (Austria) vs Switzerland, 7–5, 26 June – Quarter-final. Those were Wagner’s only goals in the tournament that year.
- Josef Hügi (Switzerland) vs Austria, 5–7, 26 June – Quarter-final. Another hattrick in defeat, Hügi matched Wagner’s output, but finished on the losing side.
1958 Sweden – 3
- Just Fontaine (France) vs Paraguay, 7–3, 8 June – Group stage. The legendary “Justo” scored the first of his two World Cup hattricks against the Paraguayans.
- Pelé (Brazil) vs France, 5–2, 24 June – Semi-final. Pelé became the youngest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history when he put Les Bleus to the sword.
- Just Fontaine (France) vs West Germany, 6–3, 28 June – Third-place play-off. This time, Fontaine hit four goals in France’s thrilling victory. Unsurprisingly, he finished as the competition’s top scorer with 13 goals. That’s still the record for most goals scored in a single WC tournament.
1962 Chile – 1
- Flórián Albert (Hungary) vs Bulgaria, 6–1, 3 June – Group stage. Albert scored two of his three goals inside the first three minutes. His three-goal flurry was the only hattrick at Chile 62.
1966 England – 2
- Eusébio (Portugal) vs North Korea, 5–3, 23 July – Quarter-final (four goals). The Black Pearl hit four of his team’s goals in a stunning showcase of his skill.
- Geoff Hurst (England) vs West Germany, 4–2 (aet), 30 July – Final. One of the most famous hattricks in football’s entire history which fired England to their first and only World Cup triumph.
1970 Mexico – 2
- Gerd Müller (West Germany) vs Bulgaria, 5–2, 7 June – Group stage. “Der Bomber” was in his prime in the 70s and proved it twice in the same tournament.
- Gerd Müller (West Germany) vs Peru, 3–1, 10 June – Group stage. Müller hit two hattricks in three group matches for the Germans and went on to top the scoring charts with 10 goals.
1974 West Germany – 2
- Dušan Bajević (Yugoslavia) vs Zaire, 9–0, 18 June – Group stage. An outstanding finisher, Bajević had more goals than games for Yugoslavia and helped himself to a hattrick at WC 74 against Zaire.
- Andrzej Szarmach (Poland) vs Haiti, 7–0, 19 June – Group stage. One of the stars of what was a golden age of Polish football, Szarmach hit five goals overall in 1974 for the prolific Poles.
1978 Argentina – 2
- Rob Rensenbrink (Netherlands) vs Iran, 3–0, 3 June – Group stage. Talented winger Rensenbrink scored two of his three goals from the penalty spot against Iran.
- Teófilo Cubillas (Peru) vs Iran, 4–1, 11 June – Group stage. Another coincidental event, Cubilla also needed two penalties against Iran to complete his hattrick.
1982 Spain – 4
- László Kiss (Hungary) vs El Salvador, 10–1, 15 June – Group stage. Still the fastest substitute hat-trick ever at a World Cup, there were only just over seven minutes between Kiss’s first and last goals.
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany) vs Chile, 4–1, 20 June – Group stage. Twice a World Cup runner-up, Rummenigge scored three times in one game against Chile in ’82.
- Zbigniew Boniek (Poland) vs Belgium, 3–0, 28 June – Second group stage. The Poles finished third in 1982 with Boniek’s assistance.
- Paolo Rossi (Italy) vs Brazil, 3–2, 5 July – Second group stage. Italy lifted the World Cup in 1982 with Rossi (6 goals) as their top scorer.
1986 Mexico – 4
- Preben Elkjær (Denmark) vs Uruguay, 6–1, 8 June – Group stage. In the Danes’ first appearance at a World Cup, Elkjær carved out his own slice of individual history with a treble against Uruguay.
- Gary Lineker (England) vs Poland, 3–0, 11 June – Group stage. Lineker became just the second Englishman ever (after Geoff Hurst) to score a World Cup hattrick.
- Igor Belanov (Soviet Union) vs Belgium, 3–4 (aet), 15 June – Round of 16. Another hattrick achieved in bittersweet circumstances, Belanov’s efforts couldn’t halt the Soviets’ elimination.
- Emilio Butragueño (Spain) vs Denmark, 5–1, 18 June – Group stage (four goals). “The Vulture” swooped in for a devastating four goals in La Roja’s rout of Denmark.
1990 Italy – 2
- Míchel (Spain) vs South Korea, 3–1, 17 June – Group stage. The Real Madrid legend scored all of Spain’s goals in their triumph over the South Koreans.
- Tomáš Skuhravý (Czechoslovakia) vs Costa Rica, 4–1, 23 June – Round of 16. Skuhravý scored three headers in a single game for the first time in World Cup history.
1994 USA – 2
- Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) vs Greece, 4–0, 21 June – Group stage. “Batigol” sealed his piece of World Cup immortality with a well-taken penalty in the 89th minute.
- Oleg Salenko (Russia) vs Cameroon, 6–1, 28 June – Group stage. Undoubtedly the highlight of his career, Salenko’s five goals in a single World Cup fixture has never been matched.
1998 France – 1
- Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) vs Jamaica, 5–0, 21 June – Group stage. With his treble against Jamaica, Batistuta became the only player ever to score hattricks across separate tournaments.
2002 South Korea & Japan – 2
- Miroslav Klose (Germany) vs Saudi Arabia, 8–0, 1 June – Group stage. World Cup specialist Klose scored three headers in the Germans’ dominant display in their opener in Group E.
- Pauleta (Portugal) vs Poland, 4–0, 10 June – Group stage. Targetman Pauleta was a regular goalscorer during his international career, though he is best remembered for his efforts against Poland.
2010 South Africa – 1
- Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina) vs South Korea, 4–1, 17 June – Group stage. Just one hattrick was registered in 2010. Higuaín was responsible for it in a routine group phase win for Argentina.
2014 Brazil – 2
- Thomas Müller (Germany) vs Portugal, 4–0, 16 June – Group stage. “Der Raumdeuter” started in Germany’s fourth World Cup win, putting down an early marker in a big win over Portugal.
- Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) vs Honduras, 3–0, 25 June – Group stage. The diminutive winger scored his only goals at World Cup 2014 in one match-winning display in the Group Stage.
2018 Russia – 2
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) vs Spain, 3–3, 15 June – Group stage. His 51st career hattrick, if you’re counting, Ronaldo sealed his treble with a stunning late free-kick equaliser.
- Harry Kane (England) vs Panama, 6–1, 24 June – Group stage. All three of Kane’s goals were scored from the penalty spot. Kane went on to win the Golden Boot in 2018 with six goals.
2022 Qatar – 2
- Gonçalo Ramos (Portugal) vs Switzerland, 6–1, 6 December – Round of 16. Portugal, with Ramos the driving force, ran riot in what had been billed as a tough-to-call knockout clash.
- Kylian Mbappé (France) vs Argentina, 3–3 (aet, lost on penalties), 18 December – Final. Perhaps the most unrewarded hattrick ever, Mbappe’s haul in France’s final loss included two penalties.
Who Might Score a Hattrick at the 2026 World Cup?
As we approach the 2026 World Cup in the USA, a clutch of expert goal-getters will be aiming to add their names to the list of the tournament’s 54 hattrick heroes.
Bettors will be able to surf the best World Cup betting offers and hattrick specials in ante-post markets. Among the favourites to win the Golden Boot this year are Kylian Mbappe (France), Harry Kane (England), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Erling Haaland (Norway), Lamine Yamal (Spain) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), and all six of those superstars have serious hattrick-scoring potential.
