Players who scored four or more goals in a match
Hat-tricks are fairly common in football. Scoring four or more in a match, less so. Here, a look at some players who managed it...
Hat-tricks in football are fairly frequent and special, too: the player gets to keep the match ball, after all, and it is often signed by his team-mates.
Sometimes, those balls even make their way into a museum, as with Cristiano Ronaldo's in his native Madeira. Usually, they are stored in a special place at home.
There is no extra reward for scoring four in a match. There's not even a proper name for it. Some say it is a "haul"; others call it a "poker". Neither term is satisfactory.
But for the players who do manage to score four or more goals in a game, it is the unlocking of a special achievement.
Here, a look at some footballers who have famously converted four or more times in a match during their careers...
32. Carlos Ruiz
Carlos Ruiz scored 68 goals for Guatemala in 133 games in an 18-year international career and the former LA Galaxy striker saved the best for last.
In his final game for Guatemala, Ruiz hit five goals in a 9-3 win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2016 and retired as the highest scorer in World Cup qualifier history.
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31. Dimitar Berbatov
One of the most elegant strikers to have played in the Premier League, Dimitar Berbatov had memorable spells at Tottenham, Manchester United and Fulham between 2006 and 2014.
The Bulgarian scored four for Spurs in a 6-4 win over Reading in December 2007 and went one better in November 2008 as he hit five for United in a 7-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers. He also scored five for CSKA Sofia in an 8-0 rout of Constructorul Chisinau in UEFA Cup qualifying in 2000.
30. Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson scored 28 goals for Australia in 54 appearances between 2001 and 2013 – and almost half of those came in one match.
Thompson, who played in Belgium with Lierse and briefly with PSV Eindhoven on loan later on, hit 13 goals in an incredible 31-0 victory for Australia over American Samoa in April 2001. His strike partner David Zdrilic scored eight in the same match.
29. Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano made history with his five goals for Shakhtar Donetsk against BATE Borisov in the Champions League in 2014.
The Brazilian striker scored four goals in the first half, including a seven-minute hat-trick, and added another in the second period. He became the first player to net four goals in one half of a Champions League game and the second, after Lionel Messi, to score five across one match in the competition.
28. Cuauhtemoc Blanco
One of Mexico's most emblematic and best-ever players, Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored six times en route to El Tri's Confederations Cup win in 1999.
Blanco netted four in a 5-1 win over Saudi Arabia in the group stages, then scored the winner against USA in the semi-finals in extra time and Mexico's fourth in their 4-3 victory over Brazil in the final.
27. Jermain Defoe
When Tottenham took a 1-0 lead into half-time against Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane in November 2009, few could have imagined what was about to happen next.
Spurs ran riot in the second half, scoring eight times in an amazing 9-1 win for Harry Redknapp's side. And Jermain Defoe became the first player to score five in one half in the Premier League.
26. Edmundo
Edmundo was one of the most talented Brazilian strikers of his generation. He was also a bit crazy. Nicknamed O Animal, the forward was never far from controversy in a colourful career and was often seen as a disruptive influence.
But at his best, he was brilliant. Playing for Vasco da Gama in 1997, Edmundo scored all six goals in a 6-0 win over Uniao de Sao Joao to set a new top-flight record in Brazil. In 1998, he moved to Fiorentina, but was back at Vasco the following year.
25. Gerd Muller
Gerd Muller scored an unbelievable 563 goals in 605 games for Bayern Munich in a club record which may never be beaten.
Muller netted five times in a match for Bayern on four separate occasions in the Bundesliga alone. In May 1973, his five goals helped the Bavarians clinch the title in a 6-0 win over Kaiserslautern. In October 1972, Muller also hit five for Bayern in a 9-0 victory over Omonia Nicosia in the European Cup.
24. Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne is better known for setting up goals than scoring them, but the Belgian has chipped in with a fair few over the years for Manchester City.
De Bruyne's best scoring season for City was 2021/22, when he hit 19 goals in all competitions, including four in a 5-1 win over Wolves in May. It could have been five, too, as he hit the post late in the game.
23. Taty Castellanos
While Real Madrid were winning LaLiga and the Champions League in 2022, Girona were promoted to Spain's top flight from the second tier.
But in a LaLiga clash at Montilivi in April 2023, Girona stunned Los Blancos with a 4-2 win and striker Taty Castellanos – on loan from MLS side New York City FC – scored all four goals in an unforgettable display.
22. Pele
While the overall number is probably lower, Pele claimed to have scored 1,283 goals in his career.
The Brazil legend, who won three World Cups and scored 77 goals in 92 appearances for his country, netted eight times in an 11-0 win for Santos over Botafogo (SP) in the Campeonato Paulista in April 1964.
21. Andy Cole
Andy Cole scored 12 goals in 18 games for Manchester United in 1994/95 after signing from Newcastle in January – and five of those came in one match.
Cole hit five in a 9-0 win over Ipswich Town and became the first player to achieve the feat in the Premier League. In August 1999, he also scored four for United against his former club Newcastle in a 5-1 win.
20. Oleg Salenko
Oleg Salenko scored six goals in eight appearances for Russia in his international career. All six at the 1994 World Cup. And five in one match.
After converting a penalty in Russia's 3-1 loss to Sweden, Salenko scored five in a 6-1 win over Cameroon in his side's final group game. The feat saw the striker make World Cup history and earn a share of the Golden Boot, but it was not enough to see Russia through to the knockout stages and he never played for his country again.
19. Marco van Basten
The first four-goal haul by a player in the Champions League was scored by the great Marco van Basten in November 1992.
After the old European Cup was revamped to become the Champions League for the 1992/93 season, Van Basten hit all four for AC Milan in a 4-0 win over IFK Goteborg. His third was a bicycle kick from just inside the area. Van Basten also once scored five for Ajax in a UEFA Cup tie against Differdange in 1984.
18. Jurgen Klinsmann
Jurgen Klinsmann's second spell at Tottenham in 1997/98 wasn't going to plan and Spurs were in danger of relegation with two Premier League games remaining.
But the German striker rolled back the years with four goals in a 6-2 win at Wimbledon to steer the north London club clear of danger and preserve his hero status at White Hart Lane. Klinsmann also once scored five in a game for Stuttgart at Fortuna Dusseldorf in 1986.
17. Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero scored 260 goals in 390 appearances in a hugely successful 10-year spell at Manchester City between 2011 and 2021.
The former Argentina striker will forever be remembered for his stoppage-time winner against QPR which gave City the Premier League title in 2011/12. But his best return in a match was five in a 6-1 win over Newcastle in October 2015 – all in the space of 20 minutes.
16. Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez scored three hat-tricks against Norwich City as a Liverpool player and absolutely destroyed the Canaries with a four-goal show at Anfield in a 5-1 win in December 2013. Three of them were sensational strikes, too.
Suarez also scored four in a 4-0 win for Uruguay against Chile in 2011. At Barcelona, he did it three times, including in the 7-0 victory over Gary Neville's Valencia in February 2016. At Ajax, he once scored six in a 14-1 win over amateur side WHC Wezep in the Dutch Cup.
15. Dado Prso
Monaco's 8-3 win over Deportivo La Coruña in the group stages of the 2003/04 Champions League remains one of the competition's craziest games to this day.
In it, Croatian striker Dado Prso scored four in a 26-minute spell either side of half-time. Deportivo went on to make it to the last four and Monaco advanced all the way to the final, with both teams beaten by Jose Mourinho's Porto. Prso joined Rangers the following summer.
14. Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff scored 257 goals in 329 appearances for Ajax in the 1960s and early 1970s before moving to Barcelona in 1973.
At Ajax, Cruyff's best return in a match was six goals in an 8-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in November 1970. He also scored four in big wins over Go Ahead Eagles, Vitesse Arnhem and SC Veendam.
13. Andrey Arshavin
Andrey Arhsavin may have been inconsistent during his time at Arsenal, but every Gunners fan will remember the Russian's four goals against Liverpool at Anfield.
Arshavin gave Arsenal the lead with the only goal of the first half and went on to add three more in the second period in a thrilling contest which ended 4-4 in April 2009. It was the only time the Russian scored four in a game in his whole career.
12. Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe won a penalty for Paris Saint-Germain against Lyon – which was scored by Neymar – in the teams' Ligue 1 clash in October 2018 and with both sides down to 10 men, hit four goals within the space of 13 second-half minutes to wrap up a 5-0 win at the Parc des Princes.
In November 2021, Mbappe scored four for France in an 8-0 win over Kazakhstan and in January 2023, the forward hit five for PSG in a 7-1 win over sixth-tier Pays de Cassel in the Coupe de France.
11. Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker spent four seasons at Barcelona in the late 1980s and is fondly remembered for scoring a hat-trick against Real Madrid in El Clásico.
And just 18 days later, Lineker hit four for England in a friendly against Spain on a rain-soaked night at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium in a 4-2 win for Bobby Robson's side in 1987. Lineker also scored all the England goals in a 4-2 win over Malaysia in 1991 and hit four for Tottenham in a 5-1 win at Wimbledon that same year.
10. Robert Lewandowski
Before his record-breaking eight-year spell at Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski spent four seasons at Borussia Dortmund and scored over 100 goals for the club.
The highlight was bagging all four as BVB beat Real Madrid 4-1 in a Champions League semi-final first leg in 2013. Later, under Pep Guardiola at Bayern, he came off the bench against Wolfsburg in September 2015 and scored five goals in nine minutes as the Bavarians came from behind to win 5-1.
9. Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer became the second player after Andy Cole to score five goals in a Premier League game, achieving the feat in an 8-0 win for Newcastle against Sheffield Wednesday in September 1999.
The former England striker hit five, including two penalties, with Gary Speed, Aaron Hughes and Kieron Dyer also on target in Sir Bobby Robson's first match in charge. What a start.
8. Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland famously scored nine goals for Norway's Under-20 side against Honduras in 2019 in a performance which made many sit up and take notice.
A year earlier, Haaland hit four as Norwegian side Molde beat SK Brann 4-0. In November 2020, he scored four for Borussia Dortmund in a 5-2 win at Hertha Berlin. At Manchester City, he hit five in a 7-0 win over RB Leipzig in March 2023 and was taken off with almost half an hour still to play. He scored five again as City thrashed Luton 6-2 in the FA Cup in February 2024 and was brought off with 13 minutes left.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored four goals in a game on more than 10 occasions throughout his impressive career.
The prolific Portuguese managed that feat against Celta Vigo, Elche, Espanyol, Girona, Granada, Racing Santander and Sevilla in La Liga. And in the Champions League, he hit four as Los Blancos beat Malmo 8-0 in the group stages in 2015. Karim Benzema also scored a hat-trick in that match.
6. Sandor Kocsis
Sandor Kocsis scored an amazing 75 goals in 68 appearances for Hungary and 11 of those goals came in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.
Kocsis hit four in an incredible 8-3 win for Hungary against West Germany in the group stages and ended up with the Golden Boot for the tournament's top scorer, but the Germans came out on top in a 3-2 victory when the two teams met again in the final.
5. Just Fontaine
Just Fontaine scored in every game he played at the 1958 World Cup and his tally of 13 goals in the tournament may never be beaten.
Fontaine hit four for France in their third-place match against defending champions West Germany as Les Bleus finished off their campaign in Sweden on a high. In total, he scored 30 goals in just 21 games for his country.
4. Eusebio
North Korea had already knocked out Italy at the 1966 World Cup and the Asian side seemed set to produce another shock as they went 3-0 up against Portugal in the quarter-finals.
But Eusebio had other ideas. The brilliant Benfica forward hit four goals in just over half an hour to turn the match around and Jose Augusto added another in a 5-3 win. Portugal went on to finish third.
3. Emilio Butragueño
Emilio Butragueño is one of Spain's greatest-ever strikers and a legend at Real Madrid, where he won five La Liga titles in a row as the leader of an exciting crop of homegrown players in the 1980s – La Quinta del Buitre.
Butragueño scored 26 goals in 69 appearances for Spain. Among them, four in a 5-1 win over Denmark in the last 16 of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
2. Ferenc Puskas
Alfredo Di Stefano scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park. But Ferenc Puskas bagged four.
The legendary Hungarian forward scored Madrid's third, fourth (a penalty), fifth and sixth goals in an incredible 7-3 win which saw Los Blancos claim the trophy for the fifth year in a row. What a game to do it in.
1. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi scored all four goals for Barcelona in a 4-1 win over Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2010 and Gunners manager Arsene Wenger called the Argentina a "Playstation" after the match.
Two years later, Messi went one better as he hit five in the last 16 of the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen in a 7-1 win in March 2012. He also scored four in Pep Guardiola's last Barcelona match at Camp Nou – a 4-0 win over Espanyol in May of that same year.
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Ben Hayward is the Weekend Editor of FourFourTwo. A European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.
