Alhassan Yusuf credits his teammates after scoring a hat-trick in New England Revolution’s 3-0 MLS win over D.C. United

Nigeria international Alhassan Yusuf scored a first career hat-trick for New England Revolution on Wednesday, 19 August 2026, as the midfielder inspired a 3-0 Major League Soccer victory over D.C. United at Audi Field in Washington, DC.

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The 26-year-old struck in the 23rd, 45th and 66th minutes to give New England a convincing away victory and end a three-match winless run.

The performance also made Yusuf the first Revolution player to score a regular-season hat-trick since Kei Kamara in September 2017.

Despite taking the headlines, Yusuf was quick to shift the attention towards his teammates, describing the result as the product of work carried out on the training ground.

“It’s something we have been practising for a while now from the beginning of the season and we got it right today. I was in the right place and got the goals,” Yusuf told the club’s media.

“It all comes down to the way we played today. It was a really good team performance. We’ve had some good games, even though the result didn’t go our way in the last two games we played.”

The victory was built on a particularly productive partnership between Yusuf and Jack Harrison. The English winger supplied the assist for all three goals, while Yusuf provided the finishing touch each time.

Yusuf opened the scoring with a header after Harrison’s delivery was returned across the penalty area by 18-year-old Peyton Miller. He doubled the lead shortly before half-time, again finishing from a Harrison cross.

The Nigerian completed the treble 21 minutes into the second half, rising to meet Harrison’s third assist and heading home to seal an emphatic victory.

The three goals represented a significant attacking milestone for a midfielder whose reputation has largely been built around his work in the middle of the pitch.

The hat-trick took Yusuf to five goals and two assists in the 2026 MLS season, already the highest scoring total of his professional career in a single campaign.

He also became the eighth player in New England’s history to score three goals in a regular-season match.

The performance earned Yusuf further recognition on Thursday when he was voted MLS Player of the Matchday for Matchday 21.

He was also named alongside Harrison in the MLS Team of the Matchday after their influential display in Washington.

New England head coach Fernando Diniz praised the contribution of both players, highlighting the quality with which they executed their roles.

“Both [Yusuf and Harrison] did their jobs. But sometimes it’s not just about doing your job. You have to do that job at a high level, with high quality, and both of them just executed all three goals perfectly,” Diniz said.

The victory also provided New England with an important lift after a difficult spell.

The Revolution improved to 10-7-3 and 33 points, while D.C. United remained on 24 points after falling to 5-6-9.

For Yusuf, the breakthrough is particularly striking because the midfielder had not previously recorded a multi-goal game as a professional, making the three-goal performance the most prolific individual display of his career.

Yusuf joined New England in August 2024 from Belgian side Royal Antwerp, where he helped the club win the Belgian league title, Belgian Cup and Belgian Super Cup. He had previously developed his professional career in Sweden with IFK Göteborg.

His progress in the United States has also strengthened his standing as a Nigeria international.

Yusuf was part of the Super Eagles squad that reached the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final, where Nigeria finished runners-up to hosts Côte d’Ivoire.

Wednesday’s display added a new dimension to his profile. Rather than simply controlling games from midfield, Yusuf showed a sharpness in front of goal that D.C. United struggled to contain.

The Revolution now turn their attention to New York City FC, with Sunday’s meeting at Gillette Stadium offering Yusuf and his teammates an opportunity to build on a performance that has already become one of the standout moments of his MLS career.

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For Yusuf, however, the message after a remarkable individual night remained notably collective. The goals may have carried his name, but he credited the preparation, movement and service around him for making the hat-trick possible.