When a player is awarded the highest goal scorer, it’s a moment of victory. But when a player scores three goals in record time, it becomes legend. The fastest hat-tricks in football history aren’t just statistically great, they’re electric, unforgettable, full of brilliance that defy logic and shatter records. Across leagues, countries, and competitions, these trebles have left fans and opponents alike in stunned admiration.
This is a list of the 11 fastest hat-tricks the football sport has ever seen.
- Alex Torr – 70 seconds
- Magnus Arvidsson – 1 minute 29 seconds
- Tommy Ross – 1 minute 30 seconds
- Eduardo Maglioni – 1 minute 51 seconds
- Jimmy O’Connor – 2 minutes 13 seconds
- James Hayter – 2 minutes 20 seconds
- Ian St John – 2 minutes 30 seconds
- Joel Pohjanpalo – 2 minutes 42 seconds
- Sadio Mané – 2 minutes 56 seconds
- Robert Lewandowski – 3 Minutes 22 Seconds
- Ronaldo Nazário – 4 minutes
Why the Fastest Hat-Tricks Matter in Football
Scoring three goals in a single match requires precision, stamina, and often a touch of magic. But doing it in a matter of minutes? That passed talent, it entered the book of football history. The fastest hat-tricks showcase not only a player’s killer instinct but also a unique moment where everything aligns with form, opportunity, and ruthless finishing.
What Qualifies as One of the Fastest Hat-Tricks?
In football sport, a “hat-trick” is typically recorded when a player scores three goals in one match, regardless of the interval between them. However, for this list, timing is everything. We’re talking about the shortest time between a player’s first and third goal in a single match, officially recognized by football associations or leagues.
Let’s see a countdown of the 11 fastest hat-tricks inside football, and the remarkable stories behind them.
11. Ronaldo Nazário – 4 Minutes (Real Madrid vs Alavés)
Image Credit: Goal
He arrived at the Bernabéu with a legacy, and within minutes, Ronaldo proved why. The Brazilian legend, fresh off a World Cup win, came off the bench and scored a hat-trick in a staggering 4 minutes. Fans barely had time to settle before he did the wonders. Each goal, a blend of balance, acceleration, and composure. It reminded the world of his unmatched brilliance.
10. Robert Lewandowski – 3 Minutes 22 Seconds(Bayern Munich vs Wolfsburg)
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What Lewandowski did in 2015 wasn’t just the fastest hat-trick in Bundesliga history, he scored five goals in nine minutes, including a hat-trick in 3 minutes. A performance so clinical, so surgical, that Pep Guardiola could only laugh in disbelief. It was as though time stopped for him and only him.
9. Sadio Mané – 2 Minutes 56 Seconds (Southampton vs Aston Villa)
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The crown for the fastest hat-trick in Premier League and top-flight history belongs to Sadio Mané. In a disaster of 2 minutes and 56 seconds, the Senegalese star left Aston Villa in shambles. His goals were a mix of poaching, high pressing, and instinct. Each touch seemed planned, as if destiny had chosen that moment for magic.
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8. Joel Pohjanpalo – 2 minutes 42 Seconds (HJK vs IFK Mariehamn)
Image Credit: Goal
Joel Pohjanpalo put his name into football history as a 17‑year‑old in April 2012, scoring a remarkable hat-trick in just 162 seconds during HJK Helsinki’s season opener against IFK Mariehamn in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. This treble remains one of the fastest hat-tricks ever recorded in top-flight professional football. Pohjanpalo’s composure and fast reflexes that day, spotlighted his talent, pushing him toward a future that included moves to Bayer Leverkusen, Union Berlin, and more, while cementing his place among the fastest finishers in football history.
7. Ian St John – 2 Minutes 30 Seconds (Motherwell vs Hibernian)
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Ian St Lawrence St John, the legendary Scottish forward later immortalized at Liverpool, recorded one of the fastest hat‑tricks in professional football history and the quickest ever in Scottish top-tier play. Playing for Motherwell in 1959, St John scored three times in just 2 minutes and 30 seconds against Hibernian.
6. James Hayter – 2 Minutes 20 Seconds (Bournemouth vs Wrexham)
Substituted into the match in the 84th minute, James Hayter made an impact that beat imagination. Within 140 seconds, he scored three times for Bournemouth in what remains the fastest hat-trick in English Football League history. No warm-up. No easing in. Just pure instinct and execution.
5. Jimmy O’Connor – 2 Minutes 13 Seconds (Shelbourne vs Bohemians)
While many of the fastest hat-tricks come from Europe’s major leagues, Jimmy O’Connor’s record in the League of Ireland stood tall for decades. In just over two minutes, he scored a treble that made headlines far beyond Dublin. His goals were less about elegance and more about hunger, chasing every ball as if it were a final.
4. Eduardo Maglioni – 1 minute 51 seconds (Independiente vs. Gimnasia)
Argentine striker Eduardo Maglioni set one of the most astonishing records in football history when he scored a hat-trick in just 1 minute and 51 seconds, a jaw-dropping feat. The goals remain the fastest hat-trick recorded in professional Argentine football. Maglioni’s finishing, awareness, and timing allowed him to seize a brief moment of opportunity and turn it into a display of efficiency. This performance solidified his place in Independiente’s storied history and enshrined him among the legends of the fastest hat-tricks ever witnessed.
3. Tommy Ross – 1 minutes 30 Seconds (Ross County vs Nairn County)
90-seconds. That’s all it took for Tommy Ross to score what was, for years, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest hat-trick in football history. Playing for Ross County, his feat wasn’t filmed, but eyewitnesses described a blur of breaks, finishes, and disbelief. While modern record-keeping has put doubt over some details, Ross’s legacy remains cherished in Scottish football history.
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2. Magnus Arvidsson – 89 Seconds (Hassleholm vs Landskrona, 1995)
Swedish striker Magnus Arvidsson reportedly scored his hat-trick in a jaw-dropping 89 seconds in a second-division game. Though not widely recognized globally, the match has been referenced in several official records. The goals were straightforward finishes, but the timing was near impossible. In less than a minute and a half, Arvidsson wrote himself into football’s most unique chapter.
1. Alex Torr – 70 Seconds (Rawson Springs FC vs Winn Gardens, 2013)
Alex Torr, an amateur footballer from England, made headlines in 2013 when he reportedly scored a hat-trick in just 70 seconds while playing for Rawson Springs FC in a Sunday League match against Winn Gardens. The match took place in the Sheffield & District Sunday League, a local amateur division. Torr scored in the 11th, 12th, and 12th minutes of the first half. Eyewitnesses and teammates timed the hat-trick at approximately 70 seconds, which would be faster than the official Guinness World Record of 90 seconds by Tommy Ross. Despite the buzz and press attention, the hat-trick was never officially verified by Guinness World Records, largely due to lack of match footage, amateur league status and absence of certified match timing equipment or officials to document it formally.
Fastest Hat-Tricks Across Leagues
- Premier League: Sadio Mané (2 minutes 56 seconds)
- Bundesliga: Robert Lewandowski (3 minutes 22 seconds)
- La Liga: Alexander Sørloth (4 minutes 2 seconds)
- Serie A: Balde Keita (5 minutes 19 seconds)
- Champions League: Mohamed Salah (6 minutes 12 seconds)
These records show not just talent, but a perfect storm of momentum, chaos, and brilliance.
Wrapping Up
Football isn’t just a game of goals, it’s a game of moments. The fastest hat-tricks remind us that sometimes, in under five minutes, history can be written in ink bold enough to last forever.
They thrill, they shock, and they endure. These 11 names put themselves into football’s most elite club not just for scoring goals, but for doing it faster than anyone dared imagine.
People Also Asked:
What is the record for most hat-tricks?
The all-time record for the most hat-tricks by a footballer belongs to Erwin Helmchen, who scored an incredible 141+ hat-tricks in official senior matches.
Who is the king of hat tricks?
Cristiano Ronaldo. He holds the record for the active player with most hat-tricks.
Who scored the hat-trick in every league?
The only player in history to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, FA Cup, League Cup and for his country Is Robert Earnshaw.
Who has more La Liga hat-tricks, Messi or Ronaldo?
Lionel Messi has scored 36 La Liga hat-tricks, all whilst playing for Barcelona, making him the player with the most hat-tricks in the competition’s history. Cristiano Ronaldo is a close second place, recording 34 hat-tricks for Real Madrid.
Has a goalkeeper ever got a hattrick?
Yes, a goalkeeper has scored a hat-trick and in fact three have done so professionally, all via penalties. Ilija Pantelić (Yugoslavia, 1963), José Luis Chilavert (Paraguay, 1999), Grigorios Athanasiou (Greece, 2022).
Has anyone scored a hat-trick of own goals?
On February 20, 2022, New Zealand defender Meikayla Moore scored three own goals in a single match against the United States during the SheBelieves Cup, the first recorded instance of a “hat-trick” of own goals in a top-level international game.
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