Ousmane Dembele’s first-half hat-trick against Norway was the 57th ever scored at the World Cup.
The Frenchman, who is the current Ballon d’Or holder, had broken a streak of 19 international games without a goal by scoring against Iraq last time out, and it has clearly opened the floodgates as he scored three times in just 25 minutes against Norway.
However, where does his impressive hat-trick rank amongst the quickest in World Cup history from the first to last goal?
The Quickest World Cup hat-tricks of all-time
Dembele’s three strikes inside 32 minutes means he has scored the second earliest hat-trick in world cup history, and with 25 minutes between his first and last goal, he does land inside the top 10 fastest times.
He’s level with Gary Lineker, who also netted three goals in 25 minutes, also doing so in the first half, albeit his final strike coming on the 34th minute.
The late great Pele just edges him out with a 23-minute hat-trick, which was scored in the semi-finals against France in 1958. He still remains the youngest player to ever score a World Cup hat-trick.
The list of the quickest hat-tricks, from the first to last goal, in World Cup history is as follows…
= 7. Ousmane Demebele (25 minutes), France 4-1 Poland, 2026
The newest edition to this list, Dembele’s effort was incredibly close to making some history.
His three goals put the game out of site for Norway and ensured France won Group I at the 2026 World Cup.
= 7. Gary Lineker (25 minutes), England 3-0 Poland, 1982
Before he was a national broadcaster, Gary Lieker was a pretty decent striker.
His hat-trick in just 25 minutes against Poland was impressive not just for its speed, but also its combined distance from the goal.
In total it wouldn’t have been any more than 18-yards, with every strike coming from within the goalkeepers six yard box.
6. Pele (23 minutes), Brazil 5-2 France, 1958
Pele was a phenom.
He was just 17-years-old when he scored a hat-trick in the 1958 World Cup semi-final against France, still holding the record of the youngest scorer of a World Cup hat-trick of all-time.
Brazil went on to win the World Cup and he scored twice in the final against Sweden.
5. Edmund Conen (21 minutes), Germany 5-2 Belgium, 1934
In just the second world cup ever, Conen added himself to this list.
Germany beat Belgium 5-2, with Conen scoring the third, fourth and fifth goals to ensure the victory in only 21 minutes. Impressive stuff.
=4. Andrzej Szarmach (20 minutes), Poland 7-0 Haiti, 1974
Prior to the tournament in 1974 Szarmach was a relative unknown, but his 20 minute hat-trick thrust him into stardom.
Poland finished the tournament as the highest scorers, netting 16 times as they finished in third place, beating Brazil to claim the prize
=4. Gerd Müller (20 minutes), West Germany 3-1 Peru, 1970
A legendary striker, of course Gerd Muller would make this list.
His three strikes against Peru took him just 20 second half minutes as West Germany breezed through the early stages of the competition.
He actually scored two hat-tricks in this tournament, just three days apart and is one of three men to have done so, alongside Sándor Kocsis (1934) and Just Fontaine (1958).
=4. Erich Probst (20 minutes), Austria 5-0 Czechoslovakia (1954)
Probst is the scorer of the earliest hat-trick in World Cup history, beating out Dembele by just eight minutes, with his final strike coming in just the 24th minute.
From his first goal to his last was only 20 minutes, an incredibly fast start to any game, let alone a World Cup match.
3. Gustav Wetterström (12 minutes), Sweden 8-0 Cuba (1938)
Wetterstrom’s 12 minute hat-trick was not the only one of the day against Cuba in 1938.
Harry Andersson also managed to take home a match ball (at least we presume he did back in 1938), but his three goals came over an 80 minute span.
2. Gabriel Batistuta (10 minutes), Argentina 5-0 Jamaica, 1998
One of only four men alongside Sándor Kocsis, Just Fontaine and Gerd Muller to score more than one World Cup hat-trick.
Batistuta’s quicker effort of the two was his second in 1998 where he netted three times in just 10 minutes against Jamaica in the group stage.
1. Laszlo Kiss (7 minutes), Hungary 10-1 El Salvador, 1982
The excellently named Laslzo Kiss tops the list of quickest World Cup hat-tricks.
The Hungarian took just seven minutes to score his three goals against El Salvador in the first group stage of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Not only is it the quickest World Cup hat-trick of all-time, it is also the only ever scored by a substitute.
