Slovenia defeated Kazakhstan 3:0 in Ljubljana on 9 September for their first win in the UEFA Nations League through an amazing hat-trick performed by Benjamin Šeško, a 21-year-old sensation. After a 1:1 draw against Austria, they remain unbeaten on top of their Group B3.

Seemingly still flying high after making it to the knock-out stage at Euro 2024, Slovenia took the initiative early to dominate the pitch at Stožice Stadium, soggy after rain, creating many more scoring opportunities than their opponents.

Šeško, a forward for the German Bundesliga club RB Leipzig who also scored a penalty shot for the draw against Austria three days earlier, showed he was on fire from the get-go.

He brought Slovenia into lead in the 23rd minute in the most beautiful move of the game, showing off his dribbling skills to outsmart Kazakhstan defenders one after another before check-mating the goalkeeper. The home crowd went crazy and his brilliant lob went viral.

"In this situation, I decided to try dribbling. If you don't try, you don't know what will happen. That's always the rule, even when it comes to kicks from a distance. I tried it, it went through, the situation worked out well, it was just a nice goal," Šeško said after the match.

Things opened up further for the Slovenian team after that move, with Šeško capitalising on a deflected shot by Petar Stojanović five minutes later, and completing his first hat-trick for the national team in the 63rd minute following a cross from a free kick executed by Erik Janža.

"We stayed in control of the game, played incredibly well and sooner or later it had to show somewhere. In this situation, it came down to me doing it. But as a team we played well the whole game and it all paid off in the end," Šeško said after the match, hoping for more hat-tricks to follow.

Having already scored 15 goals in his 35 appearances as Slovenia international, Šeško now places 5th best Slovenia scorer ever after Zlatko Zahović (35), Milivoje Novaković (32), Josip Iličić (17) and Sašo Udovič (16).

"I think we can deservedly say we played quality game ... Šeško played well as the 'executioner', but (Žan) Celar and (Žan) Vipotnik also played well," commented Slovenia head coach Matjaž Kek, who celebrated his 63rd birthday on the day of the match.

He said it was normal everyone was talking about "Beni", but it was also important to say that the team let him know that they believe in in him following a crisis after the Euro. "When you see him smiling, playful, enjoying football with his teammates, those are good things."

The win against Kazakhstan put Slovenia, ranked 52nd in the FIFA rankings, at the top of their group in the B or second level of the Nations League, a competition that can also serve as an additional qualifying door for European championships. They have four points, just like the Norwegians, who beat Austria 2:1 at home. Slovenia will next play Norway in Oslo on 10 October.