# List of Scotland national football team hat-tricks

Since Scotland's first international association football match on 30 November 1872, 33 players have scored three goals (a hat trick) or more in a game. The first player to do so was John McDougall, in a match against England on 2 May 1878. 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 and Joe Harper in a friendly against a Canada Olympic team on 13 June 1967, although some reports credit at least one of their goals to other players. 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. Steven Fletcher (twice), Robert Snodgrass, James Forrest and McGinn all scored hat tricks for Scotland between 2015 and 2019, 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.
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. 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, 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. 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 them, and then by Robert Earnshaw for Wales in a friendly. 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.

## Hat tricks for Scotland
### 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.
| Date | Goals | Player | Opponent | Venue | Competition | Result |
| 2 March 1878 | 3 | John McDougall | England | Hampden Park [I], Glasgow | Friendly | 7–2 |
| 13 March 1880 | 3 | George Ker | England | Hampden Park [I], Glasgow | Friendly | 5–4 |
| 12 March 1881 | 3 | John Smith | England | Kennington Oval, London | Friendly | 6–1 |
| 14 March 1885 | 3 | Alex Higgins | Ireland | Hampden Park [II], Glasgow | 1884–85 British Home Championship | 8–2 |
| 23 March 1885 | 3 | Joseph Lindsay | Wales | Acton Park, Wrexham | 1884–85 British Home Championship | 8–1 |
| 20 March 1886 | 3 | Charles Heggie | Ireland | Ulster Ground, Belfast | 1885–86 British Home Championship | 7–2 |
| 24 March 1888 | 4* | William Dickson | Ireland | Solitude Ground, Belfast | 1887–88 British Home Championship | 10–2 |
| 9 March 1889 | 3 | Willie Groves | Ireland | Ibrox Park [I], Glasgow | 1888–89 British Home Championship | 7–0 |
| 22 March 1890 | 4* | William Paul | Wales | Underwood Park, Paisley | 1889–90 British Home Championship | 5–0 |
| 29 March 1889 | 3 | Gilbert Rankin | Ireland | Ulster Ground, Belfast | 1889–90 British Home Championship | 4–1 |
| 18 March 1893 | 3 | John Barker | Wales | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | 1892–93 British Home Championship | 8–0 |
| 18 March 1893 | 4* | Jake Madden | Wales | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | 1892–93 British Home Championship | 8–0 |
| 19 March 1898 | 3 | James Gillespie | Wales | Fir Park, Motherwell | 1897–98 British Home Championship | 5–2 |
| 18 March 1899 | 3 | Robert Smyth McColl | Wales | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | 1898–99 British Home Championship | 6–0 |
| 25 March 1899 | 3 | Robert Smyth McColl | Ireland | Celtic Park, Glasgow | 1898–99 British Home Championship | 9–1 |
| 7 April 1900 | 3 | Robert Smyth McColl | England | Celtic Park, Glasgow | 1899–1900 British Home Championship | 4–1 |
| 23 February 1901 | 4* | Sandy McMahon | Ireland | Celtic Park, Glasgow | 1900–01 British Home Championship | 11–0 |
| 23 February 1901 | 4* | Robert Hamilton | Ireland | Celtic Park, Glasgow | 1900–01 British Home Championship | 11–0 |
| 1 March 1902 | 3 | Robert Hamilton | Ireland | Grosvenor Park, Belfast | 1901–02 British Home Championship | 5–1 |
| 14 March 1908 | 4* | Jimmy Quinn | Ireland | Dalymount Park, Dublin | 1907–08 British Home Championship | 5–0 |
| 27 February 1926 | 3 | Hughie Gallacher | Ireland | Ibrox Park, Glasgow | 1925–26 British Home Championship | 4–0 |
| 27 February 1928 | 3 | Alex Jackson | England | Wembley Stadium, London | 1927–28 British Home Championship | 5–1 |
| 27 October 1928 | 3 | Hughie Gallacher | Wales | Ibrox Park, Glasgow | 1927–28 British Home Championship | 4–2 |
| 23 February 1929 | 5* | Hughie Gallacher | Ireland | Windsor Park, Belfast | 1928–29 British Home Championship | 7–3 |
| 26 May 1929 | 3 | Alec Cheyne | Norway | Brann Stadion, Bergen | Friendly | 7–3 |
| 26 May 1932 | 3 | Neil Dewar | France | Stade Olympique, Colombes | Friendly | 3–1 |
| 1 October 1949 | 3 | Henry Morris | Ireland | Windsor Park, Belfast | 1949–50 British Home Championship / 1950 FIFA World Cup qualifying | 8–2 |
| 1 November 1950 | 4* | Billy Steel | Ireland | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 1950–51 British Home Championship | 6–2 |
| 20 May 1951 | 3 | George Hamilton | Belgium | Stade Heysel, Brussels | Friendly | 5–0 |
| 30 April 1952 | 3 | Lawrie Reilly | United States | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Friendly | 6–0 |
| 8 May 1957 | 3 | Jackie Mudie | Spain | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification | 4–2 |
| 7 October 1961 | 3 | Alex Scott | Northern Ireland | Windsor Park, Belfast | 1961–62 British Home Championship | 6–1 |
| 7 November 1962 | 4* | Denis Law | Northern Ireland | Windsor Park, Belfast | 1962–63 British Home Championship | 5–1 |
| 4 June 1963 | 3 | Denis Law | Norway | Brann Stadion, Bergen | Friendly | 3–4 |
| 7 November 1963 | 4* | Denis Law | Norway | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Friendly | 6–1 |
| 13 June 1967 | 5* | Joe Harper | Canada Olympic team | Alexander Park, Winnipeg | Friendly | 7–2 |
| 17 May 1969 | 4* | Colin Stein | Cyprus | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification | 8–0 |
| 29 March 2015 | 3 | Steven Fletcher | Gibraltar | Hampden Park, Glasgow | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying | 6–1 |
| 11 October 2015 | 3 | Steven Fletcher | Gibraltar | Estádio Algarve, Faro | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying | 6–0 |
| 4 September 2016 | 3 | Robert Snodgrass | Malta | Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | 5–1 |
| 20 November 2018 | 3 | James Forrest | Israel | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League | 3–2 |
| 13 October 2019 | 3 | John McGinn | San Marino | Hampden Park, Glasgow | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | 6–0 |

## Hat-tricks conceded by Scotland

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.
| Date | Goals | Player | Opponent | Venue | Competition | Result |
| 1 April 1893$^e$ | 3 | Fred Spiksley | England | Athletic Ground, Richmond | 1892–93 British Home Championship | 2–5 |
| 2 April 1955 | 4* | Dennis Wilshaw | England | Wembley Stadium, London | 1954–55 British Home Championship | 2–7 |
| 15 April 1961 | 3 | Jimmy Greaves | England | Wembley Stadium, London | 1960–61 British Home Championship | 3–9 |
| 19 May 1979 | 3 | John Toshack | Wales | Ninian Park, Cardiff | 1978–79 British Home Championship | 0–3 |
| 1 April 1987 | 3 | Nico Claesen | Belgium | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying | 1–4 |
| 19 November 2003 | 3 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying playoff | 0–6 |
| 18 February 2004 | 3 | Robert Earnshaw | Wales | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Friendly | 0–4 |
| 27 May 2012 | 3 | Landon Donovan | United States | EverBank Field, Jacksonville | Friendly | 1–5 |