The Fastest Hat Trick Netted at the Euros: When, How, and Who Else Has Scored a Triple?

The European championship is one of the biggest international football competitions in the world and is said to rank only behind the FIFA World Cup.

The competition has produced several great players while also serving fans iconic moments, from sensational goals to thrilling matches and hat-tricks.

Since the start of the tournament in 1958, there have been only seven hat-trick scorers and only one man has two trebles at the championship.

Sports Brief looks at the quickest hat-trick in the history of the continental championship and who else has netted a coveted Euro treble.

The seven players to score hat-tricks at the Euros

Dieter Muller - Germany

Dieter Muller will go down in the history of European Championships as the first player to score a hat-trick. The German international scored three times as the European heavyweights defeated Yugoslavia in extra-time at the 1976 championship. He netted his first at full-time before becoming the hero in extra-time after scoring twice in the 4-2 victory.

Klaus Allof - Germany

Another German went on to become the second player to have his name in the list of hat-trick scorers. Four years after Muller had made history in Yugoslavia, Allof ensured his nation extended their record by scoring three times as they defeated the Netherlands 3-2 at the competition hosted in Italy in 1980, per Wikipedia.

Michel Platini - France

The Frenchman will go down in the history of the tournament as arguably the best player to ever play at the Euros. He has the enviable record of doing it twice at one tournament, with the 1984 Euros synonymous with his name. Platini scored a hat-trick against Belgium and Yugoslavia in the group stages of the competition hosted on home soil. He then led France to their first ever title at the 1984 tournament and ended up winning the Ballon d'Or award for his heroics.

Marco Van Basten - The Netherlands

Injuries ruined his career but even with his short stint in football, he remains one of the greatest Dutch players of all-time. Van Basten became the fourth player to record his name on the hat-trick list after scoring three goals as the Netherlands defeated England at the Euros in 1988.

Sergio Conceicao - Portugal

After Van Basten's hat-trick in 88, it took 12 years for another treble to be recorded at the Euros. Portuguese forward, Conceicao, starred as the Selacao thrashed Germany 3-0 in the group stage of the competition hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. That was not the only hat-trick of that edition...

Meet the top 4 African stars who played for Eintracht Frankfurt

Football

Patrick Kluivert - The Netherlands

Having enjoyed much success at Barcelona, the Netherlands fondly remember him for his performance at the 2000 Euros. Kluivert inspired Die Oranje as they thumped Yugoslavia 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the competition on home soil.

David Villa - Spain

The former Valencia and Barcelona star was part of a successful Spain team that won back-to-back Euros. Villa's hat-trick against Russia at Euro 2008 started what would become a football dynasty. He scored three times as La Roja won the group-stage game 4-1 at the edition in Austria and Switzerland. Spain went on to win the competition, the World Cup in 2010, and the Euros in 2012 to stamp their dominance.

The quickest hat-trick at the Euros

With Yugoslavia being the team to have conceded the most hat-tricks, it is no surprise to see them being the team to have also shipped in three quickest goals at the Euros.

Michel Platini, the star of Euro '84, scored the quickest hat-trick in the tournament's history against the former country in the 14th, 59th, and 77th minutes on June 19, as reported by UEFA.

France, the eventual champions of the tournament on home soil, defeated Yugoslavia 3-0 in that group-stage match, with all three goals coming from the former UEFA president.

Likely hat-trick scorers at Euro 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo has come the closest to scoring a hat-trick at Euros in recent times, after netting a brace in the 3-3 draw against Hungary at Euros 2016. He eventually led his country to what was Portugal's first-ever European triumph.

He will be returning to Euros 2024 in Germany and given his current form in Saudi Arabia, the veteran forward is among the most likely to reach the Euros milestone that has eluded him. Ronaldo has scored a hat-trick at a FIFA World Cup before.

Harry Kane of England has been in dazzling form for Bayern Munich in his first campaign in Germany and he remains a contender for the Golden Boot award. Could the Three Lions skipper add his name to the Euro history books?

Kylian Mbappe netted a hat-trick in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, it is obvious he could replicate a similar feat in Germany at the Euros. France are also among the top contenders for the European title and their superstar could announce himself as a top Ballon d'Or contender with a treble.