Scoring in a World Cup final is a memorable moment in a footballing career and some of the greatest players in history have made their mark on the biggest stage.
From Pele to Gerd Muller, to modern icons including Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario, the World Cup final has seen stars step up to the occasion.
One goal in a World Cup can the make a player a national hero, with two or more goals certain to secure iconic status.
A hat trick has proven to be elusive for generations of star names with just one player holding the proud record of scoring a World Cup final hat trick.
MORE:Â World Cup 2022 top goal scorer tracker: Updated Golden Boot rankings
World Cup final hat tricks
A trivia question instantly answered by England fans: Who is the only player to score a hat trick in a World Cup final?
Geoff Hurst’s three goals secured the most famous result in English football history as Sir Alf Ramsey’s side beat West Germany 4-2 in the 1966 final at Wembley Stadium.
Hurst’s early header cancelled out Helmut Haller’s opener in London, but it was his iconic extra time brace which sealed the win, and coined the iconic ‘They think it’s all over’ reaction from match commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme.
Scottish commentary of the 1966 World Cup Final pic.twitter.com/QcaPiX63cY
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) December 13, 2022
Players to score two goals in a World Cup final
Whilst Hurst’s record remains untouched ahead of the 2022 final, other names have registered two goals in a World Cup final, with seven players scoring a brace.
Alongside Hurst’s three goals inspiring England to victory in 1966, all seven players with two goals in a World Cup final have gone on to lift the trophy.
| Player | Year | Country | Opponent | Final Score | Time of Goals |
| Ronaldo | 2002 | Brazil | Germany | Brazil 2-0 Germany | 67′, 79′ |
| Zinedine Zidane | 1998 | France | Brazil | France 3-0 Brazil | 27, 45+1′ |
| Mario Kempes | 1978 | Argentina | Netherlands | Argentina 3-1 Netherlands | 38, 105 |
| Pele | 1958 | Brazil | Sweden | Brazil 5-2 Sweden | 55′, 90′ |
| Vava | 1958 | Brazil | Sweden | Brazil 5-2 Sweden | 9′, 32′ |
| Helmut Rahn | 1954 | West Germany | Hungary | West Germany 3 Hungary 2 | 18′, 84 |
| Gino Colaussi | 1938 | Italy | Hungary | Italy 4 Hungary 2 | 6′, 35′ |
| Silvio Piola | 1938 | Italy | Hungary | Italy 4 Hungary 2 | 16, 82′ |
All time World Cup hat tricks
There have been 52 total hat tricks in World Cup history, with 49 players accounting for those feats. Just Fontaine (1958), Gerd Muller (1970) and Gabriel Batistuta (1994 and 1998) have multiple World Cup hat tricks.Â
The edition that has seen more hat tricks than any other to this point was the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, when eight were struck. That included two in the same match, Austria 7-5 Switzerland, from opposing players Theodor Wagner and Josef Hugi.
Through World Cup history, only one edition of the tournament has failed to see a hat trick netted, the 2006 World Cup which was held in Germany.Â
The first-ever hat trick at a World Cup was scored by an American, Bert Patenaude, at the Uruguay 1930 tournament.Â
List of all hat tricks scored at the World CupÂ
| Year | Player | Team | Opponent | Stage | Final Result |
| 2022 | Goncalo Ramos | Portugal | Switzerland | Round of 16 | W 6-1 |
| 2018 | Harry Kane | England | Panama | Group | W 6-1 |
| 2018 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Spain | Group | D 3-3 |
| 2014 | Xherdan Shaqiri | Switzerland | Honduras | Group | W 3-0 |
| 2014 | Thomas Muller | Germany | Portugal | Group | W 4-0 |
| 2010 | Gonzalo Higuain | Argentina | South Korea | Group | W 4-1 |
| 2002 | Pauleta | Portugal | Poland | Group | W 4-0 |
| 2002 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | Saudi Arabia | Group | W 8-0 |
| 1998 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | Jamaica | Group | W 5-0 |
| 1994 | Oleg Salenko | Russia | Cameroon | Group | W 6-1 |
| 1994 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | Greece | Group | W 4-0 |
| 1990 | Tomas Skuhravy | Czechoslovakia | Costa Rica | Round of 16 | W 4-1 |
| 1990 | Michel | Spain | South Korea | Group | W 3-1 |
| 1986 | Emiliano Butrageuno | Spain | Denmark | Round of 16 | W 5-1 |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Soviet Union | Belgium | Round of 16 | L 3-4 (aet) |
| 1986 | Gary Lineker | England | Poland | Group | W 3-0 |
| 1986 | Preben Elkjaer | Denmark | Uruguay | Group | W 6-1 |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | Brazil | Second Group | W 3-2 |
| 1982 | Zbigniew Boniek | Poland | Belgium | Second Group | W 3-0 |
| 1982 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Chile | Group | W 4-1 |
| 1982 | Laszlo Kiss | Hungary | El Salvador | Group | W 10-1 |
| 1978 | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru | Iran | Group | W 4-1 |
| 1978 | Rob Rensenbrink | Netherlands | Iran | Group | W 3-0 |
| 1974 | Andrzej Szarmach | Poland | Haiti | Group | W 7-0 |
| 1974 | Dusan Bajevic | Yugoslavia | Zaire | Group | W 9-0 |
| 1970 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | Peru | Group | W 3-1 |
| 1970 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | Bulgaria | Group | W 5-2 |
| 1966 | Geoff Hurst | England | West Germany | Final | W 4-2 (aet) |
| 1966 | Eusebio | Portugal | North Korea | Quarterfinals | W 5-3 |
| 1962 | Florian Albert | Hungary | Bulgaria | Group | W 6-1 |
| 1958 | Just Fontaine | France | West Germany | Third place match | W 6-3 |
| 1958 | Pele | Brazil | France | Semifinals | W 5-2 |
| 1958 | Just Fontaine | France | Paraguay | Group | W 7-3 |
| 1954 | Josef Hugi | Switzerland | Austria | Quarterfinals | L 5-7 |
| 1954 | Theodor Wagner | Austria | Switzerland | Quarterfinals | W 7-5 |
| 1954 | Max Morlock | West Germany | Turkey | Group | W 7-2 |
| 1954 | Burhan Sargin | Turkey | South Korea | Group | W 7-0 |
| 1954 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | West Germany | Group | W 8-3 |
| 1954 | Carlos Borges | Uruguay | Scotland | Group | W 7-0 |
| 1954 | Erich Probst | Austria | Czechoslovakia | Group | W 5-0 |
| 1954 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | South Korea | Group | W 9-0 |
| 1950 | Ademir | Brazil | Sweden | Final group stage | W 7-1 |
| 1950 | Oscar Miguez | Uruguay | Bolivia | First group stage | W 8-0 |
| 1938 | Harry Anderson | Sweden | Cuba | Quarterfinals | W 8-0 |
| 1938 | Gustav Wetterstrom | Sweden | Cuba | Quarterfinals | W 8-0 |
| 1938 | Leonidas | Brazil | Poland | Round of 16 | W 6-5 (aet) |
| 1938 | Ernst Wilimowski | Poland | Brazil | Round of 16 | L 6-5 (aet) |
| 1934 | Oldrich Nejedly | Czechoslovakia | Germany | Semifinals | W 3-1 |
| 1934 | Edmund Conen | Germany | Belgium | Round of 16 | W 5-2 |
| 1934 | Angelo Schiavio | Italy | USA | Round of 16 | W 7-1 |
| 1930 | Pedro Cea | Uruguay | Yugoslavia | Semifinals | W 6-1 |
| 1930 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | Mexico | Group | W 6-3 |
| 1930 | Bert Patenaude | USA | Paraguay | Group | W 3-0Â |
Credit: sportingnews.com