Paolo Rossi — 6 goals, Italy 1982

Paolo Rossi delivered the most dramatic goalscoring surge in World Cup history: zero goals in the group stage, then all 6 in the final three matches. He scored a hat-trick against Brazil, two against Poland, and the opener in the final — all after returning from a two-year match-fixing ban. His feat outperforms #6 Gary Lineker's consistent group-stage scoring, as Rossi's clutch performance transformed Italy into champions. No other Golden Boot winner has achieved such a concentrated burst of goals in elimination rounds.