Nigeria First African Nation To Have Players Score Hat-Tricks In All Three UEFA Club Competitions
Nigeria has made football history by becoming the first African country to have players score hat-tricks in all three UEFA club competitions.
From Victor Osimhen’s Champions League heroics to Ademola Lookman’s Europa League brilliance and Gift Orban’s record-breaking feat in the Conference League, Nigerian players have cemented the country’s reputation as a global football giant.
Below is the list of Nigerian Players who have scored at least a Hat-trick in UEFA Club Competitions
Victor Osimhen
Naija News reports that Victor Osimhen entered his name into the record books on November 5, 2025, when he fired Galatasaray to a 3-0 win over Ajax at the Johan Cruijff Arena. His hat-trick made him only the second Nigerian to score three times in a UEFA Champions League match.
The Super Eagles striker converted two penalties and added one from open play, producing a clinical performance that left the Dutch side helpless. It was Galatasaray’s first Champions League hat-trick since Burak Yilmaz’s in 2012.
Osimhen’s treble also made him Nigeria’s all-time top scorer in the competition with 15 goals, surpassing Obafemi Martins’ record of 10. It continued a rich run of form that has seen him score 12 goals in his last eight European outings.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni
Long before Osimhen’s brilliance, Yakubu Aiyegbeni was the only Nigerian player to score a hat-trick in any UEFA club Competitions. The former Super Eagles forward became the first Nigerian to score a Champions League hat-trick on September 24, 2002, leading Maccabi Haifa to a 3-0 victory over Olympiacos.
Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman delivered one of the greatest performances ever seen in a European final when he single-handedly sank Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 Europa League final.
The Atalanta winger struck three times in Dublin to end Leverkusen’s 51-game unbeaten streak and hand the Italian side their first major European title. His goals were a blend of technique, pace, and confidence, marking the first hat-trick in a UEFA final since 1975.
Lookman became the first player to score a treble in a Europa League final and the first footballer to hit a hat-trick in a one-legged men’s European final since 1969.
Gift Orban
Gift Orban completed Nigeria’s clean sweep of UEFA competitions with his remarkable performances in the Europa Conference League. The Gent striker stunned the continent when he scored the fastest hat-trick in UEFA history, netting three times in just three minutes and 25 seconds against İstanbul Başakşehir in the 2023 round of 16.
His record broke Mohamed Salah’s Champions League benchmark of seven minutes and Patson Daka’s Europa League record of ten. Orban later scored another hat-trick against Pogoń Szczecin in the qualifying rounds, leading Gent to a 5-0 win.