The 21-year-old Standard Liege star netted three times as Michael O’Neill’s team hammered Bulgaria 5-0 in the Nations League at Windsor Park on Tuesday night.
It was the first time a Northern Ireland player had scored a treble since David Healy against Liechtenstein in 2007, with Price joining the Linfield manager, who did it twice, and the likes of Colin Clarke, George Best, Johnny Crossan and Billy McAdams on the international hat-trick list.
The former Everton star said he would give the match ball to his mum and dad, who were in the sell-out crowd, for all the sacrifices they made for him when he was younger.
“David Healy was the last person to score a hat-trick for Northern Ireland in 2007, so it has been such a long time and to do it at Windsor Park and become the youngest was unbelievable,” said Price.
Given his Premier League debut by then Everton boss Frank Lampard in 2022, Price moved to Standard Liege in Belgium the following year, becoming a key player for them just as he is for Northern Ireland.
Against Bulgaria, in a victory that took Northern Ireland to the top of their Nations League table, Price scored twice in the first half from inside the box before smashing in a stunner late on from distance for goal number three on the night and five overall for his country.
“Adding goals to my game is something I’ve been trying to work on. Tuesday was my night where everything I touched went in the back of the net,” he said.
“Once you score two you are always thinking about the third. When the ball came to me outside the box I thought ‘why not hit it’ and thankfully it went in. It was an unbelievable feeling.”
After letting fly and planting the ball home for his hat-trick, Price’s name was chanted around Windsor Park.
On the fans he said: “I don’t think there is any atmosphere like it. The extra cheers can put opposition teams off and give us a real boost so when you have support like that it is only going to help you.”
Price added the close bond and friendship between the youthful Northern Ireland players has been an important element in the team’s progression.
“We are all good mates on the field and off the field, which is really important and helps our development,” said Price.
“To get a result like this with these lads is a great feeling. This win will give us loads of confidence.
“The team performance outweighs my performance. I was lucky to score the goals on the night but it could have gone to anyone.
“We knew we were capable of these types of performances but to show it against a good side was fantastic and now we have to do that for two more games and top the group.”
Those next two games are against Belarus and Luxembourg next month when back to back victories would guarantee topping the table.