Few moments in soccer are as celebrated as a hat-trick. When a single player scores three goals in one match, the crowd roars, the commentators lose their minds, and the player walks off clutching the match ball as a keepsake. It is one of the sport’s most iconic individual achievements, but the term itself has a surprising history, and there is more nuance to it than many fans realize.
A hat-trick simply means three goals scored by the same player in a single game. The phrase actually comes from cricket, not soccer, and it now carries a set of traditions and variations all its own, from the prized “perfect hat-trick” to the custom of keeping the ball. At the elite level, players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have racked up dozens of them, while a hat-trick at a World Cup remains one of the rarest and most special feats in the game.
The chart below breaks down what a hat-trick is: the definition, the types, the all-time leaders, and the biggest World Cup hat-trick records. Take a look, then we’ll go through the details.
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What a hat-trick is
A hat-trick in soccer means three goals scored by the same player in a single match. It is one of the sport’s signature individual achievements, a sign of a dominant, match-winning attacking performance, and it never fails to generate excitement. Importantly, the three goals do not have to be scored consecutively or in a particular way: they can come from open play, headers, penalties, or free kicks, and can be spread across the whole game.
A few details define what counts. Goals from penalties do count toward a hat-trick, but own goals by opponents do not, only the player’s own goals count toward their tally. Goals scored in extra time typically count, while penalty-shootout goals do not. And a player can still be credited with a hat-trick even if their team draws or loses the match, though the vast majority of hat-trick scorers finish on the winning side.
Where the word comes from
Curiously, the term “hat-trick” did not originate in soccer at all, it comes from cricket. In the 19th century, a bowler who took three wickets with three consecutive deliveries was traditionally rewarded with a new hat to mark the rare feat. The phrase “hat-trick” stuck, spread to other sports, and today universally means achieving something three times, most famously scoring three goals in a game.
The cricketing roots also help explain the tradition that survives in soccer today: the player who scores a hat-trick is allowed to keep the match ball as a souvenir, often getting it signed by teammates afterward. You will regularly see a hat-trick hero walking off the pitch at full time clutching the ball, a small ceremony that underlines how special the achievement is considered to be.
The different types of hat-trick
Not all hat-tricks are equal, and soccer has special names for particular versions. The most prized is the “perfect hat-trick” (sometimes called a flawless hat-trick), in which a player scores their three goals with their left foot, their right foot, and a header. It is celebrated because it demonstrates complete, all-around finishing ability, using both feet and the head, rather than relying on a single strong side.
Other variations exist too. A “consecutive hat-trick” is when a player scores three goals in a row with no other player scoring in between. A “dead-ball hat-trick” is a rare version made up entirely of penalties or free kicks, Lionel Messi once scored one against Celta Vigo consisting of a penalty and two free kicks. There is no single common term for scoring four goals in a match (sometimes loosely called a “haul”), while five is exceptionally rare.
The all-time hat-trick kings
At the elite level, two players have dominated the modern hat-trick charts: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo leads the way with around 66 career hat-tricks, narrowly ahead of Messi’s roughly 61, with both totals still moving as the pair continue to play. The two also share the Champions League record with eight hat-tricks each, and Messi holds the La Liga record with 36, just ahead of Ronaldo’s 34.
Ronaldo has also scored an incredible 10 or so “perfect” hat-tricks, underlining his two-footed and aerial ability, while Messi, who has scored comparatively few headers, is not credited with any perfect hat-tricks. It is worth noting that several historical goalscorers are credited by some record-keepers with even more hat-tricks than Ronaldo or Messi, and Pele is officially recognized by Guinness World Records with 88, though such old records are notoriously difficult to verify precisely.
World Cup hat-trick records
Scoring a hat-trick at a World Cup is one of the rarest and most prestigious feats in soccer, and the tournament’s hat-trick history is full of iconic moments. The very first hat-trick in World Cup history was scored by American Bert Patenaude in 1930, a fact FIFA officially recognized in 2006. The fastest World Cup hat-trick belongs to Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss, who scored three goals in just seven minutes in 1982, remarkably as a substitute.
The rarest achievement of all is a hat-trick in a World Cup final, managed by only two players in history: England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 and France’s Kylian Mbappe in 2022 (in a final France lost on penalties). The most goals by one player in a single World Cup match is five, set by Russia’s Oleg Salenko in 1994. And at the 2026 World Cup, Lionel Messi scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his storied career, adding another chapter to the tournament’s rich hat-trick history.
Final Word
A hat-trick in soccer is three goals scored by one player in a single match, one of the game’s most celebrated individual feats. The term comes from cricket, penalties count but own goals do not, and tradition dictates the scorer keeps the match ball. Beyond the basic version, the “perfect hat-trick” of left foot, right foot, and header stands as the most admired form of the achievement.
From Ronaldo and Messi’s record-breaking totals to the rare glory of a World Cup final hat-trick, three goals in a game remains a benchmark of attacking greatness. For more on soccer’s scoring terms, see our guide to the World Cup Golden Boot winners by year.