At just 16-years-old, footballer Haley Bugeja has become the first Maltese woman to score a hat-trick during an international competition. 

The football prodigy laid claim to the accolade during Malta’s 4-0 win against Georgia in the team’s penultimate UEFA Women’s Euro Group B qualifier matchup.

It took just eight appearances at the senior level for Bugeja to break the single-game goal scoring record.

However, this stat alone doesn’t do justice for the fierce 16-year-old who also got on the books for an assist to Shona Zammit who fired from-point blank range to net her first goal for the national team.

Needless to say, Bugeja went on to score the remaining three goals and Malta ended the game with a clean sheet for the first time in this qualifying group. 

Bugeja has been a standout star not only at the international level but also as a forward for the Serie A team Sassuolo where she’s netted five goals in her first season so far. As such, Bugeja has the sixth most goals scored in the league.