You're sitting in a stadium, or maybe just on your couch with a lukewarm drink, and suddenly the commentator loses their mind. Three goals. One player. It feels like the ultimate individual flex in a team sport. But when you ask what is a hat trick in football, the answer is actually a bit more nuanced than just counting to three on your fingers.
It's a rare feat. Honestly, most professional players go their entire careers without ever smelling one. It’s the kind of performance that turns a standard Saturday afternoon into a piece of sporting history that fans talk about for decades.
Where the Name Actually Came From
Believe it or not, the term didn't start on a pitch. It started on a cricket crease back in 1858. H.H. Stephenson took three wickets in three consecutive deliveries. The fans were so blown away that they literally took up a collection to buy him a new hat. That’s it. That’s the whole origin story. No magic, just a literal hat for a literal trick.
By the time football started gaining massive traction in the late 19th century, the term migrated over. It just sounded right. It stuck. Today, if you score three times in a single match, you’re the "hat-trick hero."
The "Perfect" Hat Trick and Other Variations
Most people think three goals is three goals. Not quite. In the eyes of the purists, there is a hierarchy of greatness here.
The Perfect Hat Trick is the holy grail. To pull this off, a player has to score one goal with their right foot, one with their left foot, and one with their head. It shows total mastery of the craft. Think about the physical coordination required to adjust your body for a header after already slotting home two finishes with different feet. It’s incredibly difficult.
Then you have the Natural Hat Trick. This is a bit more controversial depending on who you ask. In some regions, like Germany or in the world of ice hockey, a natural hat trick only counts if the three goals are scored consecutively in the same half without anyone else scoring in between. If your teammate sneaks one in during the 60th minute while you scored in the 10th, 40th, and 80th? Sorry, in some books, that’s just a regular hat trick.
✨ Don't miss: Finding the Best Texas Longhorns iPhone Wallpaper Without the Low-Res Junk
Famous Examples That Defined Eras
We can't talk about this without mentioning the absolute monsters of the game. Erling Haaland seems to treat hat tricks like a grocery list. Since joining Manchester City, he has broken records so fast that statisticians can barely keep up. He’s basically redefined what we expect from a modern striker.
Then there’s the 1966 World Cup Final. Geoff Hurst. The only man for decades to score a hat trick in a World Cup final—though there's still that eternal debate about whether his second goal actually crossed the line. It doesn't matter; the record books say three.
Kylian Mbappé joined that exclusive club in 2022. He scored three in the final against Argentina. He still lost the game, which is a bizarre, heartbreaking footnote. It proves that even the greatest individual performance can’t always overcome a team’s destiny.
The Unwritten Rule of the Ball
If you see a player walking off the pitch at the end of ninety minutes clutching the match ball like it’s a newborn baby, you know exactly what happened. It is the universal tradition. The referee hands the ball to the hat-trick scorer.
Sometimes, teammates will sign the ball in the dressing room. It’s a trophy. A physical reminder of the day they were untouchable. You'll see these balls in glass cases in players' homes or donated to club museums. It’s the one piece of "merch" you truly have to earn.
Does it Count in Penalty Shootouts?
Here is where people get confused. If a game goes to a penalty shootout after extra time and a player scores their third "goal" during that shootout—does it count?
🔗 Read more: Why Isn't Mbappe Playing Today: The Real Madrid Crisis Explained
No.
Goals scored in a penalty shootout are technically "conversions" used to decide the winner of the match. they do not count toward a player's individual season tally, and they definitely don't count toward a hat trick. You have to get the job done during the 90 minutes (plus injury time) or the 30 minutes of extra time.
Why Hat Tricks are Getting (Maybe) Easier
Modern football is high-scoring. Tacticians like Pep Guardiola or Jürgen Klopp have built systems designed to feed a single "number nine" player as many chances as humanly possible.
In the 1970s and 80s, defending was... well, it was more like a sanctioned brawl. Strikers were hacked down the moment they entered the final third. Today, with VAR and stricter officiating, creative players have more protection. Does that diminish the achievement? Probably not. You still have to put the ball in the net.
Beyond the Three: The Haul and the Glut
What happens if you don't stop at three?
- Four goals: Usually called a "haul."
- Five goals: Often referred to as a "glut."
When Sergio Agüero scored five goals in 20 minutes against Newcastle in 2015, people stopped looking for words and just started staring in disbelief. It was a statistical anomaly that felt like a glitch in the Matrix.
💡 You might also like: Tottenham vs FC Barcelona: Why This Matchup Still Matters in 2026
Practical Steps for Tracking and Understanding Scoring Feats
If you want to dive deeper into the world of football statistics and truly appreciate the rarity of the hat trick, don't just watch the highlights.
Check out historical databases like RSSSF (Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation). They have meticulously tracked hat tricks across every major league since the dawn of the sport. It’s a rabbit hole of data.
Follow specialized X (formerly Twitter) accounts like OptaJoe or Squawka. They provide real-time context. They’ll tell you if a player’s hat trick was the fastest in league history or if they used a specific combination of body parts to achieve it.
Next time you're watching a match and a striker gets two goals early, pay attention to the "service." Watch how the midfielders start looking for that one specific player. The hunt for the hat trick often changes the entire chemistry of a game in the final fifteen minutes. It becomes a collective effort to help one person reach legendary status.
Pay close attention to the footedness of the goals. Seeing a "Perfect Hat Trick" live is a rare privilege that most fans only witness a handful of times in a lifetime of watching the sport. Mark the date if you see it.