Who is Renato Steffen? Meet the 31-year-old forward who made history with hat-trick for Switzerland 

Switzerland star Renato Steffen made history as he bagged a hat-trick within 29 minuted during the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying clash against Belarus. The Swiss are currently leading the game by a scoreline of 5-0.

Steffen, 31, plays as a right-winger. He represents FC Lugano at the club level. The clash against Belarus was Steffen's 30th appearance for the Swiss national team. He had previously scored only one goal in international football before his thundering hat-trick against Belarus.

Steffen once drew comparisons with Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi for a spectacular goal while playing for VFL Wolfsburg against Mainz.

The hat-trick against Belarus, though, is undoubtedly the most notable performance of his career so far. He has played for teams like FC Basel, BSC Young Boys, and more during his career as well.

Apart from Renato Steffen, Granit Xhaka and Jekie Amdouni have also got on the scoresheet for the Swiss.

Renato Steffen once opened up on his struggles at Wolfsburg

Steffen is a quality player. When he joined Wolfsburg from FC Basel in 2018, the expectations were high. However, his career didn't blossom according to the player's liking.

Steffen has scored 18 goals and provided 16 assists in 144 matches for the Bundesliga club. Speaking about his struggles in Germany, Steffen said last year (via Luzerner Zeitung):

"Every time I thought: Now I've shown what the coach has in me, a new one came along. Then I always thought: But now everyone knows what they have in me. But it was not so. It was always the same game."

Nico Kovac was in charge of Wolfsburg during Steffen's time at the club. The winger has scored three goals and has provided five assists in 21 matches since his move to FC Lugano at the start of the 2022-23 season.