FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa Hat Tricks History

Considered to be one of the most amazing sporting events in the world, the FIFA World Cup brings to mind thought of amazing feats human skill and astounding goal attempts. Players like Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), Maradona (Argentina) and Paolo Rossi (Italy) have all made amazing goals at the World Cup, and their expertise at getting the ball into the net has guaranteed they will be considered legends in World Cup soccer history.

Debuting in 1930, FIFA World Cup is staged each 4 years, with over 2000 goals racked up in its 8 decades of existence. Oddly enough, in spite of its reputation for being a goal-scoring extravaganza, the 700 matches played in this tournament have only yielded 48 hat-tricks.

The first time anyone scored a hat-trick during the World Cup was in 1930, when Bert Patenaude scored three times against Paraguay during the group stages, helping the United States to move on into the knockout stages.

At age 17, Pele (Brazil) is the youngest player to ever complete a hat-trick at the World Cup, while Tore Keller (Sweden) is the oldest, at age 33. Pele's hat-trick lifted Brazil's score, giving them a 5-2 win over the French in the 1958 World Cup semi-final, where Brazil went on to beat Sweden in the final. Keller scored his hat-trick in the '38 quarter-final match as the Swedes managed 8 against their Cuban opponents. The Swedish team was defeated by the Hungarian squad 5 to 1 in the semi where Gyula Zsengelier managed a hat trick.

Only four players have even completed two hat-tricks in a World Cup match; Sándor Kocsis, from Hungary, completed two hat-tricks in the 1954 tournament, while Just Fontaine, from France, repeated the act in 1958; Gerd Müller, from Germany, scored a pair of hat-tricks in 1970, while Gabriel Batistuta, from Argentina, did it in both 1994 and 1998. In the history of competition, Batistuta can claim to be the sole player to manage hat-tricks in different World Cups.

Laszlo Kiss from the Hungarian team can claim the quickest hat-trick scored in a World Cup match. Kiss got his hat-trick in '82, launching a trio of goals against El Salvador toward the end of the match. Kiss happens to be the sole sub player to manage a World Cup hat trick.

There have been just a couple players who have managed hat-tricks for a losing squad in a World Cup game. In 1986, Soviet Igor Belanov completed a hat-trick during his team's 4 - 3 loss against the Belgians; during the 1954 quarter-final, Swiss Josef Hügi scored three times against the Austrians, but his team still suffered a 7-5 loss. This contest saw a couple hat-tricks, the second one achieved by Theodor Wagner on the Austrian side.
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No one in the world, except for Tomá%u0161 Skuhravý (Czechoslovakia) and Mirolsv Klose (Germany) has ever completed World Cup hat-tricks from headers. Skuhravý scored a hat-trick in 1990 against the Costa Rican team, while Klose hit the net three times in 2002, resulting in the Germans winning the match against the Saudis 8-0.

The most talked-about hat-trick at the World Cup was completed at Wembley Stadium during the 1966 final; Geoff Hurst (England) completed a hat-trick in against West Germany, helping his team to a 4-2 victory. The English got the World Cup trophy while Hurst became the sole player to get a World Cup championship game hat-trick.

However, there is debate surrounding the English victory. Hurst launched a shot at the goal with the game tied at two goals each. The ball bounced off of the cross bar and landed on the ground at such great speed, there was no way of knowing if it had actually breached the goal line. However, they were granted the point, bringing the tally to a 3-2 decision for the English team. In recent years, the images from that game have been digitally enhanced, proving that the ball actually did not breach the goal line, although it doesn't matter, since Hurst scored once more in the last minute, locking up a win for England.

Unusual in World Cup history, there were actually no hat-tricks completed in 2006; hat-tricks are a footballing phenomenon that excite both players and fans, guaranteeing that anyone lucky enough to complete one will be remembered passionately and with love. The chart that follows lists every player who achieved a hat-trick at a World Cup match.

Player Team Opposing Team Year Venue
Bert Patenaude United States Paraguay 1930 Uruguay
Guillermo Stábile Argentina Mexico 1930 Uruguay
Pedro Cea Uruguay Yugoslavia 1930 Uruguay
Angelo Schiavio Italy United States 1934 Italy
Edmund Conen Germany Belgium 1934 Italy
Old%u0159ich Nejedlý Czechoslovakia Germany 1934 Italy
Ernest Wilimowski Poland Brazil 1938 France
Leónidas da Silva Brazil Poland 1938 France
Gustav Wetterström Sweden Cuba 1938 France
Tore Keller Sweden Cuba 1938 France
Gyula Zsengellér Hungary Sweden 1938 France
Oscar Míguez Uruguay Bolivia 1950 Brazil
Ademir Brazil Sweden 1950 Brazil
Sándor Kocsis Hungary Korea Republic 1954 Switzerland
Erich Probst Austria Czechoslovakia 1954 Switzerland
Carlos Borges Uruguay Scotland 1954 Switzerland
Sándor Kocsis Hungary West Germany 1954 Switzerland
Burhan Sargun Turkey Korea Republic 1954 Switzerland
Max Morlock West Germany Turkey 1954 Switzerland
Theodor Wagner Austria Switzerland 1954 Switzerland
Josef Hügi Switzerland Austria 1954 Switzerland
Just Fontaine France Paraguay 1958 Sweden
Pelé Brazil France 1958 Sweden
Just Fontaine France West Germany 1958 Sweden
Flórián Albert Hungary Bulgaria 1962 Chile
Eusébio Portugal Korea DPR 1966 England
Geoff Hurst England West Germany 1966 England
Gerd Müller West Germany Bulgaria 1970 Mexico
Gerd Müller West Germany Peru 1970 Mexico
Du%u0161an Bajevi%u0107 Yugoslavia Zaire 1974 West Germany
Andrzej Szarmach Poland Haiti 1974 West Germany
Rob Rensenbrink Netherlands Iran 1978 Argentina
Teófilo Cubillas Peru Iran 1978 Argentina
László Kiss Hungary El Salvador 1982 Spain
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge West Germany Chile 1982 Spain
Zbigniew Boniek Poland Belgium 1982 Spain
Paolo Rossi Italy Brazil 1982 Spain
Preben Elkjær Larsen Denmark Uruguay 1986 Mexico
Gary Lineker England Poland 1986 Mexico
Igor Belanov Soviet Union Belgium 1986 Mexico
Emilio Butragueño Spain Denmark 1986 Mexico
Míchel Spain Denmark 1986 Mexico
Tomás1 Skuhravý Czechoslovakia Costa Rica 1990 Italy
Gabriel Batistuta Argentina Greece 1994 United States
Oleg Salenko Russia Cameroon 1994 United States
Gabriel Batistuta Argentina Jamaica 1998 France
Miroslav Klose Germany Saudi Arabia 2002 South Korea & Japan
Pauleta Portugal Poland 2002 South Korea & Japan