FIFA World Cup Hat-Trick Scorers in History

As all football fans know, the World Cup is the most prestigious soccer tournament in the world. The excitement of the tournament gathers football lovers together every four years as their favorite sides participating in this grand event.

World Cup is the most viewed and followed sporting event in the world, and since its inauguration, the expectation is high from footballers in the tournament. Playing at the FIFA World Cup is a great honor for each player, and scoring in this prestigious tournament is footballers' dream, but scoring a hat-trick? There is nothing more honorable than this for a football player.

Scoring a hat-trick is not always easy to achieve, and it cannot be planned. It is true that a hat-trick enhances the condition of the team and gives players confidence. Stay tuned to review the best World Cup hat-trick scorers in football history.

Greatest FIFA World Cup Hat-tricks of All Time

Well, it's time to glance back at the list of the best hat-tricks in World Cup history. We'll start the article with the players who scored two hat-tricks at the World Cup and continue with the players who scored a hat-trick at the World Cup recently. Then we'll wrap off our article with the complete list of players who scored a hat-trick at the World Cup. So let's get started without wasting time.

Sandor Kocsis (Hungary)

• World Cup:

  both 1954

• Round:

  Group Stage

At the 1954 World Cup in

, eight hat-tricks were scored, which was a record. The first hat-trick went to Sandor Kocsis, a prolific Hungarian goalscorer. In the opening game of the tournament, Kocsis scored his first hat-trick against South Korea. Hungary smashed South Korea with nine goals in that match. In the next competition, the striker scored four goals.

In the 1954 World Cup, Sandor Kocsis became the top goalscorer with 11 goals, including two hat-tricks, and secured his place as one of the best FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history. The Hungarian striker is the first footballer to achieve this.

Just Fontaine (France)

• World Cup:

  both 1958

• Round:

  Group Stage, 3rd place match

A prolific French footballer will best be remembered for his 1958 FIFA World Cup performance, where he scored two hat-tricks. On 8 June 1958, France met

in the group stage of the 1958 World Cup. In that game, Fontaine scored his first hat-tricks in that World Cup. Just Fontaine managed to score four goals at the third-place playoff against West Germany in front of 32483 spectators in the Ullevi stadium at Gothenburg.

The prolific French goalscorer scored in the 16th, 36th, 78th, and 89th minutes of the match, and he marked his spot among one of the

top hat-trick scorers in FIFA World Cup history

. In the 1958 World Cup, Just Fontaine scored 13 times in just six matches.

Gerd Muller (West Germany)

• World Cup:

  both 1970

• Round:

  Group Stage

In the list of

FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history

, Gerd Muller is next. West Germany faced Bulgaria in the group stage of the 1970 World Cup. Gerd Muller scored in the 27th, 52th, and 88th minutes of the match. The prolific goalscorer in a game against Peru scored a hat-trick and secured his place as one of the best FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history.

The legend scored ten times in this World Cup, winning the Golden Boot as top goalscorer.

Gabriel Batistuta (Argentine)

• World Cup:

  1994, 1998

• Round:

  Group Stage

In the 1994 World Cup, which was held in the United States, in

opening game against Greece, Gabriel Batistuta scored a hat-trick in the 2nd, 44th, and 89th minutes of the match. The morale of the Argentine was seriously affected by Diego Maradona's doping suspension. The late Argentine footballer scored the other goal in that game and ran over to a television camera.

In the 1998 World Cup, he scored the second hat-trick of his World Cup career against Jamaica, becoming the first to score a hat-trick in two World Cups. Gabriel Batistuta marked his spot among

best hat-tricks in World Cup history.

Harry Kane (England)

• World Cup:

  2018

• Round:

  Group Stage

In the list of FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history, Harry Kane is next. On 24 June,

and Panama came face to face at the 2018 World Cup group stage in Russia. Hosted by Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, 43,319 spectators witnessed Harry Kane hit a hat-trick in England's 6–1 win over Panama. The result was England's largest-ever World Cup victory, and Gehad Grisha, the Egyptian referee, officiated that match.

With these three goals, Harry Kane became the third England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup. During the 2018 World Cup, he scored six goals, winning the Golden Boot as the top goalscorer of the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

• World Cup:

  2018

• Round:

  Group Stage

Undoubtedly Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best football players in the 21st century. Starting from his extraordinary performances at the club level to his international contribution, Ronaldo has proved his worth for his teams. At the 2018 World Cup, he played a brilliant group stage match against

and scored a hat-trick.

CR7 scored in the 4th, 44th, and 88th minutes of the match, becoming the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match. With these three goals, he secured his place as one of the best World Cup hat-trick scorers in football history.

Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)  

• World Cup:

  2014

• Round:

  Group Stage

Switzerland and Honduras faced each other at the group stage of the 2014 World Cup in

, and 40,322 spectators witnessed that game in Arena da Amazonia stadium on 25 June 2014. The Argentinean referee, Nestor Pitana, officiated the match where Xherdan Shaqiri hit a hat-trick.

He scored in the 6th, 31th, and 71st minutes of the match where Switzerland defeated Honduras. His hat-trick was the second by a Swiss player in the World Cup match and also the 50th hat-trick in the history of the World Cup.

Thomas Muller (Germany)

• World Cup:

  2014

• Round:

  Group Stage

In the list of FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history, Thomas Muller is next. On 16 June 2014, Milorad Mazic, Serbian referee, officiated the 2014 World Cup group stage between Germany and

. Besides, 51,081 spectators witnessed the match in Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova stadium. The most brilliant moment of that day came when Thomas Muller hit a hat-trick.

The German footballer scored in the 12th, 45th, and 78th minutes of the match and secured his place as one of the

greatest FIFA World Cup hat-tricks of all time

. In that tournament, he scored five goals, winning the Silver Boot as the tournament's second top goalscorer.

Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)

• World Cup:

  2010

• Round:

  Group Stage

Argentina and

came face to face at the group stage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Argentinean football player, Gonzalo Higuain, displayed extraordinary performance in front of 82,174 spectators at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. Argentina defeated South Korea by 4-1 that day.

Gonzalo Higuain netted in 33th, 76th, 80th minutes of that match, becoming one of the

FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history

.

Miroslav Klose (Germany)

• World Cup:

  2002

• Round:

  Group Stage

One of the FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history, Miroslav Klose, represented the German squad in the 2002 World Cup. In the group stage of the tournament against Saudi Arabia, 32,218 spectators witnessed his brilliant skills in Sapporo Dome stadium. Klose netted three goals in the 20th, 25th, and 70th minutes of the game and helped the German side to achieve an astonishing 8-0 against Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that Paraguayan referee, Ubaldo Aquino, officiated the match. 

The German striker ended the tournament as the joint second-highest goalscorer alongside Rivaldo. 

Pauleta (Portugal)

• World Cup:

  2002

• Round:

  Group Stage

On 10 June 2002, the Scottish referee, Hugh Dallas, officiated the 2002 World Cup group stage between Portugal and

. Besides, 31,000 spectators witnessed the match in Jeonju World Cup Stadium. In that game Pauleta, the Portuguese football player, hit a hat-trick, becoming one of the greatest FIFA World Cup hat-tricks of all time.

The Portuguese striker scored in the 14th, 65th, and 77th minutes of the game, where Portugal defeated Poland.

Oleg Salenko (Russia)

• World Cup:

  1994

• Round:

  Group Stage

A total of 74,914 spectators attended the group stage of the 1994 World Cup played between Russia and

. Stanford Stadium hosted the match on 28 June 1994. Oleg Salenko scored five brilliant goals against Cameroon in the 14th, 41th, 44th, 72th, and 75th minutes of that match.

Salenko helped the Russian national side to win that match with an unbelievable 6-1 result. With these five goals, he set a World Cup record, winning the Golden Boot as joint-top tournament goalscorer. Salenko shared the award with Hristo Stoichkov, the Bulgarian footballer, after being knocked out in the first round, becoming the only player ever to win the Golden Boot award and eliminated from the World Cup finals at the group stage.

Tomas Skuhravy (Czechoslovakia)

• World Cup: 1990

• Round: Round of 16

Czechoslovakia and Costa Rica faced each other at the Round of 16 the 1990 World Cup in Italy, and 47,673 spectators witnessed that game in Stadio San Nicola Stadium in Bari. East German referee, Siegfried Kirschen, officiated the match where Tomas Skuhravy scored three times.

The striker netted in the 12th, 63rd, 82nd minutes of that match, where Czechoslovakia defeated

with a 4-1 result.  With that hat-trick, Skuhravy marked his spot among the

best World Cup hat-trick scorers in football history

.

Michel (Spain)

• World Cup:

  1990

• Round:

  Group Stage

Spain met South Korea in the group stage match of the 1990 World Cup. The 32,733 spectators witnessed the game at the Stadio Friuli stadium in Udine on 17 June 1990. Spanish footballer had an extraordinary performance and netted three goals in 22th, 61th, and 81st minutes of that match against South Korea.

Michel helped the Spanish side won that match 3-1 against South Korea. It is worth mentioning that Ecuadoran referee, Elias Jacome, officiated that game.

Emilio Butragueno (Spain)

• World Cup:

  1986

• Round:

  Round of 16

The Dutch referee, Jan Keizer officiated the round of 16 matches of the 1986 World Cup between Spain and

. Besides, 38,500 spectators witnessed the brilliant game at the Estadio La Corregidora on 18 June 1986. Emilio Butragueno scored four times in 43th, 56th, 80th, and 88th in that match.

He displayed brilliant performance, as Spain beat Denmark 5–1 in the round-of-16 match.

A complete list of FIFA World Cup hat-trick scorers in history

We wrap off our article with the complete list of World Cup hat-trick scorers in football history and in case you want to know more about this kind of best hat-tricks, you can read our article on

.

• Bert Patenaude (1930)

• Guillermo Stabile (1930)

• Pedro Cea (1930)

• Angelo Schiavio (1934)

• Edmund Conen (1934)

• Oldrich Nejedly (1934)

• Ernst Wilimowski (1938)

• Leonidas (1938)

• Gustav Wetterstrom (1938)

• Harry Andersson (1938)

• Oscar Miguez (1950)

• Ademir (1950)

• Sandor Kocsis (1954)

• Erich Probst (1954)

• Carlos Borges (1954)

• Burhan Sargın (1954)

• Max Morlock (1954)

• Theodor Wagner (1954)

• Josef Hugi (1954)

• Just Fontaine (1958)

• Pelé (1958)

• Just Fontaine (1958)

• Florian Albert (1962)

• Eusebio (1966)

• Geoff Hurst (1966)

• Gerd Muller (1970)

• Dusan Bajevic (1974)

• Andrzej Szarmach (1974)

• Rob Rensenbrink (1978)

• Teofilo Cubillas (1978)

• Laszlo Kiss (1982)

• Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1982)

• Zbigniew Boniek (1982)

• Paolo Rossi (1982)

• Preben Elkjær (1986)

• Gary Lineker (1986)

• Igor Belanov (1986)

• Emilio Butragueno (1986)

• Michel (1990)

• Tomas Skuhravy (1990)

• Gabriel Batistuta (1994)

• Oleg Salenko (1994)

• Gabriel Batistuta (1998)

• Miroslav Klose (2002)

• Pauleta (2002)

• Gonzalo Higuain (2010)

• Thomas Muller (2014)

• Xherdan Shaqiri (2014)

• Cristiano Ronaldo (2018)

• Harry Kane (2018)

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