List of Scotland national football team hat-tricks

Last updated

Denis Law, who scored three hat tricks for Scotland, pictured here in a statue outside Old Trafford. Dennis law statue.jpg
Denis Law, who scored three hat tricks for Scotland, pictured here in a statue outside Old Trafford.

Since Scotland's first international association football match on 30 November 1872, [1] 33 players have scored three goals (a hat trick) or more in a game. The first player to do so was John McDougall, [2] [3] in a match against England on 2 May 1878. [1] The most goals scored by a single player in a match is five, scored by Hughie Gallacher in a 1928–29 British Home Championship match against Ireland on 23 February 1929 [4] [5] and Joe Harper in a friendly against a Canada Olympic team on 13 June 1967, [6] although some reports credit at least one of their goals to other players. [7] [8] Denis Law is the only player to have scored four goals in a single match more than once. Robert Smyth McColl, Gallacher and Law are tied for the most hat tricks for Scotland's international team, with three hat tricks each.

Contents

The most recent player to score a hat-trick for Scotland was John McGinn, in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against San Marino on 13 October 2019. [9] Steven Fletcher (twice), Robert Snodgrass, James Forrest and McGinn all scored hat tricks for Scotland between 2015 and 2019, [10] [11] [12] [13] [9] ending a long wait dating back to 17 May 1969, when Colin Stein scored four goals in the 8–0 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Cyprus. [10] [14]

Scotland have conceded eight hat-tricks in total, with the first scored by England's Fred Spiksley in 1893 – this does not appear in all records, with the last goal of a 5–2 scoreline being mistakenly attributed to Jack Reynolds for some time. [15] The second instance, 62 years later, featuring four goals by Dennis Wilshaw of England on 2 April 1955 in a 1954–55 British Home Championship match, [16] remains the highest individual player total for either team in the fixture and the only occasion an opposing player has scored four times in a match.

Nico Claesen of Belgium was the first player from outside the Home Nations to score a hat trick against Scotland, in the UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying match on 1 April 1987. [17] Scotland had only conceded five hat tricks until the 200304 season when the feat was achieved against them in successive matches, first by Ruud van Nistelrooy for the Netherlands in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying playoff match against them, and then by Robert Earnshaw for Wales in a friendly. [18] The most recent hat trick conceded by Scotland was in May 2012, when Landon Donovan scored three times in a 51 win for the United States in a friendly. [19]

Hat tricks for Scotland

Key
More than a hat-trick scored *
Table

Wartime internationals, not regarded as official matches, are not included in the list. The result is presented with Scotland's score first.

DateGoalsPlayerOpponentVenueCompetitionResultRef [a]
2 March 1878
3
John McDougall Flag of England.svg England Hampden Park [I], Glasgow Friendly
7–2
[1]
13 March 1880
3
George Ker Flag of England.svg England Hampden Park [I], Glasgow Friendly
5–4
[1]
12 March 1881
3
John Smith Flag of England.svg England Kennington Oval, London Friendly
6–1
[20]
14 March 1885
3
Alex Higgins Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Hampden Park [II], Glasgow 1884–85 British Home Championship
8–2
[20]
23 March 1885 [b]
3
Joseph Lindsay Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Acton Park, Wrexham 1884–85 British Home Championship
8–1
[20] [b]
20 March 1886
3
Charles Heggie Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Ulster Ground, Belfast 1885–86 British Home Championship
7–2
[20]
24 March 1888
4*
William Dickson Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Solitude Ground, Belfast 1887–88 British Home Championship
10–2
[20]
9 March 1889
3
Willie Groves Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Ibrox Park [I], Glasgow 1888–89 British Home Championship
7–0
[20]
22 March 1890
4*
William Paul Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Underwood Park, Paisley 1889–90 British Home Championship
5–0
[20]
29 March 1889
3
Gilbert Rankin Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Ulster Ground, Belfast 1889–90 British Home Championship
4–1
[20]
18 March 1893
3
John Barker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 1892–93 British Home Championship
8–0
[21]
18 March 1893
4*
Jake Madden Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 1892–93 British Home Championship
8–0
[21]
19 March 1898
3
James Gillespie Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Fir Park, Motherwell 1897–98 British Home Championship
5–2
[21]
18 March 1899
3
Robert Smyth McColl Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 1898–99 British Home Championship
6–0
[21]
25 March 1899
3
Robert Smyth McColl Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Celtic Park, Glasgow 1898–99 British Home Championship
9–1
[21]
7 April 1900
3
Robert Smyth McColl Flag of England.svg England Celtic Park, Glasgow 1899–1900 British Home Championship
4–1
[21]
23 February 1901
4*
Sandy McMahon Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Celtic Park, Glasgow 1900–01 British Home Championship
11–0
[22]
23 February 1901
4*
Robert Hamilton Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Celtic Park, Glasgow 1900–01 British Home Championship
11–0
[22]
1 March 1902
3
Robert Hamilton Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Grosvenor Park, Belfast 1901–02 British Home Championship
5–1
[22]
14 March 1908
4*
Jimmy Quinn Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Dalymount Park, Dublin 1907–08 British Home Championship
5–0
[22]
27 February 1926
3
Hughie Gallacher Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Ibrox Park, Glasgow 1925–26 British Home Championship
4–0
[4]
27 February 1928
3
Alex Jackson Flag of England.svg England Wembley Stadium, London 1927–28 British Home Championship
5–1
[4]
27 October 1928
3
Hughie Gallacher Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Ibrox Park, Glasgow 1927–28 British Home Championship
4–2
[4]
23 February 1929
5*
Hughie Gallacher [c] Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Windsor Park, Belfast 1928–29 British Home Championship
7–3
[4]
26 May 1929
3
Alec Cheyne Flag of Norway.svg Norway Brann Stadion, Bergen Friendly
7–3
[4]
26 May 1932
3
Neil Dewar Flag of France.svg France Stade Olympique, Colombes Friendly
3–1
[23]
1 October 1949
3
Henry Morris Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Windsor Park, Belfast 1949–50 British Home Championship /
1950 FIFA World Cup qualifying
8–2
[24]
1 November 1950
4*
Billy Steel Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg Ireland Hampden Park, Glasgow 1950–51 British Home Championship
6–2
[24]
20 May 1951
3
George Hamilton Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium Stade Heysel, Brussels Friendly
5–0
[16]
30 April 1952
3
Lawrie Reilly Flag of the United States.svg United States Hampden Park, Glasgow Friendly
6–0
[16]
8 May 1957
3
Jackie Mudie Flag of Spain.svg Spain Hampden Park, Glasgow 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
4–2
[25]
7 October 1961
3
Alex Scott Ulster Banner.svg Northern Ireland Windsor Park, Belfast 1961–62 British Home Championship
6–1
[26]
7 November 1962
4*
Denis Law Ulster Banner.svg Northern Ireland Windsor Park, Belfast 1962–63 British Home Championship
5–1
[26]
4 June 1963
3
Denis Law [d] Flag of Norway.svg Norway Brann Stadion, Bergen Friendly
3–4
[26]
7 November 1963
4*
Denis Law Flag of Norway.svg Norway Hampden Park, Glasgow Friendly
6–1
[26]
13 June 1967
5*
Joe Harper [f] Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada Olympic team Alexander Park, Winnipeg Friendly
7–2
[7] [27] [8]
17 May 1969
4*
Colin Stein Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus Hampden Park, Glasgow 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
8–0
[14]
29 March 2015
3
Steven Fletcher Flag of Gibraltar.svg Gibraltar Hampden Park, Glasgow UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
6–1
[10]
11 October 2015
3
Steven Fletcher Flag of Gibraltar.svg Gibraltar Estádio Algarve, Faro UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
6–0
[11]
4 September 2016
3
Robert Snodgrass Flag of Malta.svg Malta Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5–1
[12]
20 November 2018
3
James Forrest Flag of Israel.svg Israel Hampden Park, Glasgow 2018–19 UEFA Nations League
3–2
[13]
13 October 2019
3
John McGinn Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino Hampden Park, Glasgow UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
6–0
[9]

Hat-tricks conceded by Scotland

Wartime internationals, not regarded as official matches, are not included in the list. The result is presented with Scotland's score first.

Scotland have conceded eight hat-tricks, five of which have been scored by players from the Home Nations.

DateGoalsPlayerOpponentVenueCompetitionResultRef [a]
1 April 1893 e
3
Fred Spiksley Flag of England.svg  England Athletic Ground, Richmond 1892–93 British Home Championship
2–5
[15]
2 April 1955
4*
Dennis Wilshaw Flag of England.svg England Wembley Stadium, London 1954–55 British Home Championship
2–7
[16] [28]
15 April 1961
3
Jimmy Greaves Flag of England.svg England Wembley Stadium, London 1960–61 British Home Championship
3–9
[26]
19 May 1979
3
John Toshack Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Ninian Park, Cardiff 1978–79 British Home Championship
0–3
[29]
1 April 1987
3
Nico Claesen Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
1–4
[17]
19 November 2003
3
Ruud van Nistelrooy Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying playoff
0–6
[18]
18 February 2004
3
Robert Earnshaw Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Friendly
0–4
[18]
27 May 2012
3
Landon Donovan Flag of the United States.svg United States EverBank Field, Jacksonville Friendly
1–5
[19]

Notes

a A full list of Scotland results for 18721880, 18811890, 18911900, 19011910, 19111920, 19211930, 19311939, 19461950, 19511955, 19561960, 19611965, 19661970, 19711975, 19761980, 19811985, 19861990, 19911995, 19962001, 20022005, 20062010, 20112015, 20162020, 20212022 are listed on the RSSSF website. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
b Some sources attribute another goal in this match, elsewhere credited to Robert Calderwood, to William Anderson – this would make a hat-trick for Anderson, completed earlier chronologically than that of Joseph Lindsay. [30] [31]
c Hughie Gallacher is credited with Scotland's sixth goal (his fifth) in some sources, [4] [5] although RSSSF credit it to Alex James. [4]
d This is Scotland's only hat-trick in a game that they lost.
e One of the goals is credited to Jack Reynolds in some sources. [15]
f Joe Harper is credited with five goals in some sources, but only three in others. [8]

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