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]
Hat-tricks for Scotland
[
edit
]
- 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.
Hat-tricks conceded by Scotland
[
edit
]
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
.
Notes
[
edit
]
a
A full list of Scotland results for
1872–1880
,
1881–1890
,
1891–1900
,
1901–1910
,
1911–1920
,
1921–1930
,
1931–1939
,
1946–1950
,
1951–1955
,
1956–1960
,
1961–1965
,
1966–1970
,
1971–1975
,
1976–1980
,
1981–1985
,
1986–1990
,
1991–1995
,
1996–2001
,
2002–2005
,
2006–2010
,
2011–2015
,
2016–2020
,
2021–2022
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Specific
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Scotland ? International Matches 1872?1880 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
9 April
2011
.
- ^
Murray, Scott (11 February 2011).
"The Joy of Six: Great comebacks"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
9 May
2011
.
- ^
"John McDougall ? A Squad"
. Scottish Football Association
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Scotland ? International Matches 1921?1930 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Snap Facts"
. The Scottish Football Association. Archived from
the original
on 10 February 2011
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
Nap-Hand Harper
, Evening Times, 14 June 1967, scan via London Hearts Supporters Club
- ^
a
b
"Former Scotland players to be recognised with international caps including Sir Alex Ferguson"
.
www.scottishfa.co.uk
. Scottish Football Association. 9 October 2021
. Retrieved
12 October
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
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
.
- ^
a
b
c
Lamont, Alasdair (13 October 2019).
"Scotland 6–0 San Marino"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
13 October
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
Lamont, Alasdair (29 March 2015).
"Scotland 6–1 Gibraltar"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
29 March
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Lamont, Alasdair (11 October 2015).
"Gibraltar 0–6 Scotland"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
11 October
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Malta 1–5 Scotland"
.
BBC Sport
. 4 September 2015
. Retrieved
4 September
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Lamont, Alasdair (20 November 2018).
"Scotland 3-2 Israel"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
20 November
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Scotland ? International Matches 1966?1970 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
"England 5 Scotland 2 (1 April 1893)"
.
englandfootballonline
. 18 May 2018
. Retrieved
12 July
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Scotland ? International Matches 1951?1955 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Scotland ? International Matches 1986?1990 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Scotland ? International Matches 2002?2005 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"USA cruise to comfortable win over Scotland in Jacksonville"
.
BBC Sport
. 27 May 2012
. Retrieved
27 May
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Scotland ? International Matches 1881?1890 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
9 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Scotland ? International Matches 1891?1900 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
9 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Scotland ? International Matches 1901?1910 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
"Scotland ? International Matches 1931?1939 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Scotland ? International Matches 1946?1950 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
"Scotland ? International Matches 1956?1960 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Scotland ? International Matches 1961?1965 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
"Scotland Unofficial Matches 1964-1967"
.
RSSSF
. 23 July 2020.
- ^
England v Scotland 1955 video footage
from
Pathe News
- ^
"Scotland ? International Matches 1976?1980 ? Details"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
10 April
2011
.
- ^
Mitchell, Andy (2021).
The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939
. Amazon.
ISBN
9798513846642
.
- ^
John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
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