List of Scotland national football team hat-tricks

A head and upper shoulders shot of a statue of a footballer
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.

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 2003–04 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 the, 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 5–1 win for the United States in a friendly.[19]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference scotland18721880 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Murray, Scott (11 February 2011). "The Joy of Six: Great comebacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  3. ^ "John McDougall – A Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference scotland1921 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference snapfacts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Nap-Hand Harper, Evening Times, 14 June 1967, scan via London Hearts Supporters Club
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference 1967 reclassified was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Mitchell, Andy (7 February 2023). "Did Joe Harper really score five? The conundrum of Scotland's 1967 World Tour". Scottish Sport History. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b Lamont, Alasdair (13 October 2019). "Scotland 6–0 San Marino". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  10. ^ a b Lamont, Alasdair (29 March 2015). "Scotland 6–1 Gibraltar". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  11. ^ Lamont, Alasdair (11 October 2015). "Gibraltar 0–6 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Malta 1–5 Scotland". BBC Sport. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference israel2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference scotland1970 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference EFO1893 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference scotland1955 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference scotland1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference scotland2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference donovan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).