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#3 Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) - 1990
Salvatore Schillaci was the surprise star of the 1990 World Cup on home soil with Italy. He only made his international debut a few months before the commencement of the tournament and was a surprise addition to the squad.
Schillaci started Italy's first game of the tournament on the bench. He replaced Andrea Carnevale and scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Austria.
From the third match onward, Schillaci was a guaranteed starter for his nation and his partnership in attack with Roberto Baggio proved to be effective.
In total, the then Juventus star scored six goals from seven matches to win the Golden Boot. He was also named the Player of the Tournament, ahead of proven players like Lothar Matthäus and Diego Maradona.
He also finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting behind the German star. However, the 1990 World Cup proved to be the peak of Salvatore Schillaci's career and he failed to hit the same heights again.
He scored just seven goals in 16 matches for Italy, with six of them coming in that magical tournament on home soil.
#2 James Rodriguez (Colombia) - 2014
Unlike the other names on this list, James Rodriguez is not a traditional forward, instead concerning himself with the creation of goals from his attacking midfield position.
The Colombia international entered the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with a relatively modest profile. He was just 22-year-old and had just finished his maiden season with Monaco after four years with Porto.
Radamel Falcao's absence through injury put extra pressure on James Rodriguez's young shoulders but he discharged his duties well enough to make a mark on the tournament.
Despite his undoubted potential, it would have taken a brave punter to bet on Rodriguez to finish as the 2014 FIFA World Cup's highest goalscorer.
For starters, there were bonafide world-class forwards like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo present in the tournament. Furthermore, Rodriguez's position as a midfielder was also a detracting factor while Colombia's modest pedigree also weighed against him.
However, the Cucuta native defied all expectations and put out one of the all-time great individual performances to guide his nation to the quarterfinal for the first time in their history.
He started the tournament with a bang, scoring three goals and providing five group stage assists to help his nation top their group. He continued his fine form by scoring both goals in the round-of-16 victory over Uruguay.
The opening goal was an exquisite volley that was voted as the goal of the tournament and also won the 2014 Puskas award.
James Rodriguez's tournament came to an end in a 2-1 defeat to Brazil in the quarterfinal. He, however, signed off with a goal in the loss, bringing his tally to six goals from just five matches, scoring in all five games.
For his efforts, Rodriguez earned a mega move to Real Madrid that summer, although his career has not hit the trajectory that many predicted.
#1 Oleg Salenko (Russia) - 1994
Oleg Salenko was the joint-winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot and odds are that the majority of the people reading this piece have never heard of him.
Salenko incredibly represented three nations in his career. He started off with the USSR Under-20 team (finishing as the top scorer at the 1989 World Youth Championship). A cap was also earned for Ukraine in the country's first international fixture following the breakup of the former Soviet Republic.
He teamed up with Russia at the 1994 World Cup where he finished as the tournament's joint-top scorer alongside Hristo Stoichkov. His tally was boosted massively when he became the first man to score five goals in a single World Cup game.
This piece of history was created when Russia defeated Cameroon 6-1 in a deadrubber group stage game, with Salenko scoring five of the goals.
That happened to be Salenko's last game on the international stage and brought his World Cup total to six goals.
He made history as the first man to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot with a team that was eliminated at the group stage and is the only man to win a Golden Boot at the Under-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup.
Also See: Six greatest players who never received an international cap
