The 10 fastest hat-tricks in football history: Sadio Mane only 9th…

George Priestman • 30 Mar 2025

Scoring goals is considered to be one of the most difficult things to do in football but there are those in history who have made a mockery by scoring mind-blowingly fast hat-tricks.

Rarely does a player strike twice in quick succession, but netting a third time shortly after is even rarer.

It’s something that has scarcely happened across the years, and when it has happened, it captures the imagination of all, and it is often a ceremonial and historic moment.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to chart the 10 fastest hat tricks in football history to educate fans on which players have managed to feat most quickly, charting from the Premier League to the international game and non-league football.

10. Joel Pohjanpalo (HJK vs IFK Mariehamn)

Kicking us off is Joel Pohjanpalo, who managed a 162-second hat-trick in HJK Helsinki’s season-opener against IFK Mariehamn in April 2012.

This took place in the Finnish League, and, to make it even better, Pohjanpalo was just 17.

Now 30, he went on to play for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, Venezia in Italy and Çaykur Rizespor in Turkey, as well as the Finland national team, having been involved at every level of youth football from U15 onwards.

9. Sadio Mane (Southampton vs Aston Villa)

Fans will surely remember Sadio Mane’s incredible quickfire hat trick in the Premier League against Aston Villa in the 2015-16 season.

In just two minutes and 56 seconds, he netted his treble on course to a 6-1 win at St. Mary’s and wrote himself into the history books as the fastest in the competition’s history.

He remained at the club for another year before then earning a move to Liverpool. Looking back, this was one of the moments where fans started to truly take notice of the tricky winger who later developed into one of the world’s best, finishing second in the Ballon d’Or while at Anfield.

READ: The only two African footballers in history to make the Ballon d’Or podium

8. Ian St John (Motherwell vs Hibernian)

Heading back much further in time, Ian St John netted a hat trick in two minutes and 30 seconds against Hibernian in 1959. St John, who was also a Scottish international, scored over 100 goals for Motherwell before later joining Liverpool.

He was signed by Bill Shankly in 1961 and then was a key figure helping the side emerge from the second tier to win two league titles and an FA Cup – and he also scored the winner in the final.

7. James Hayter (Bournemouth vs Wrexham)

Bournemouth vs Wrexham may well be a Premier League game in the coming years, but back in February 2004, the two sides faced off in the old division two. On this occasion, the Cherries won 6-0, and Hayter managed a treble in two minutes and 20 seconds.

That broke a football league record that stood since 1952 at the time, and it remains the fastest in football league history. A trivial fact about the hat trick is that his parents both missed it as they had already left the game early to get the last ferry back to the Isle of Wight.

6. Jimmy O’Connor (Shelbourne vs Bohemians)

Former Irish footballer Jimmy O’Connor managed a hat trick in an incredible two minutes and 13 seconds for Shelbourne in November 1967. A plaque was put up at Shelbourne’s Tolka Park home to commemorate the feat.

All three goals were captured in black and white video but the footage is rather unclear. The first was a smart finish into the corner while the second was an opportunistic chip and the third was a leaping header from inside the box. O’Connor went onto make 109 league appearances, scoring 26 goals, with Shels from 1965–66 to 1971–72.

5. Abdul Hamid Bassiouny (Egypt vs Namibia)

The Egypt international netted just three goals for his country – and all three came in one game in record time during a World Cup qualifier in 2001. Facing off against Namibia, Abdul Hamid Bassiouny scored his three goals inside two minutes – in 117 seconds to be precise – as Egypt ran out 8-2 winners.

He played the entirety of his career in Egpyt at club level and only totalled 14 caps for his country but he cemented his legacy with this incredible quick hat-trick.

4. Eduardo Maglioni (Independiente vs Gimnasia y Esgrima)

Argentinian Eduardo Maglioni played in the 1960s and 1970s and played all of his club football in his home country, starring for Independiente as he managed seven trophies in total.

The hat trick in question came in March 1973 in a match against Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata. He features highly on this list, having managed his treble in just one minute and 51 seconds. Wow.

3. Tommy Ross (Ross County vs Nairn County)

For many years, Tommy Ross held the record for the fastest hat-trick before the two men above him on this list achieved their feats. Ross produced a stunning 90-second hat-trick against Nairn County in November 1964 which stood for many years.

He was a star for Ross County and later joined the Football League to play for Peterborough United, York City and Wigan Athletic.

2. Magnus Arvidsson (Hassleholm vs Landskrona)

The Sweden international Magnus Arvidsson managed to edge out Ross’s record by one second as he managed a hat-trick in just 89 seconds. For a time, he held the record for the quickest hat-trick ever scored in competitive football.

He played the entirety of his career in Sweden and made two substitute appearances for his country in the build-up to Euro 2000.

1. Alex Torr (Rawson Springs vs Winn Gardens)

Sheffield is a city in Yorkshire that holds great football legacy, given that Sheffield Football Club is the world’s oldest existing football club and that Hallam FC’s Sandygate has the oldest stadium still in use – while Rawson Springs’ Alex Torr also wrote his name into football folklore.

His 70-second hat-trick was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as he netted four goals in a 7-1 win for Rawson over Winn Gardens in the Meadowhall Sunday League, adding another layer of football history to the great city of Sheffield.

TRY A QUIZ: Can you the name the scorers of the 10 fastest Premier League goals?

Sadio Mane