Irmatov will officiate in the opening match between hosts South Africa and Mexico, while fellow AFC Elite Referee Nishimura is in charge of Uruguay versus France, also in Group A.

AFC’s Abdul Razak Bin Annuar and Ameez Mohamed said they were proud to see their good friends being recognised on the global stage.

“I’ve known Ravshan since I first joined AFC in 2008,” Abdul Razak told www.the-afc.com. “He is soft spoken and humble and has a very good personality. During the Elite Education Seminar in the same year, he participated in all class discussions and practical training sessions actively.

“I watched his games during the video assessment conducted by our Elite Assessors and he performed very well, whether it is in the AFC Champions League or AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.”

Abdul Razak said that Irmatov was his own harshest critic.

He said: "Ravshan impressed me very much because he is not shy to ask us to correct his mistakes. He is willing to learn on how to improve his match control as he knew that we would be reviewing all his matches in DVDs.

“No doubt, he deserves the highest honour of officiating in the opening match of the world biggest sporting event.”

Abdul Razak also reserved high praise for Nishimura.

“For Yuichi, he is very lively and bonded well with fellow AFC Elite Referees. That is a trait of a good referee. He is also humble and well-disciplined.”

Ameez, from Maldives, said Irmatov was an "outstanding" individual and a keen learner.

“I have worked with Ravshan a number of times during my career as an AFC Match Commissioner since 2005,” he said.

“He always asks for advice and comments to improve on his refereeing performances. He is well behaved, has an outstanding personality and he is a good listener.

“What is his secret of success? I must say that it is all is down to his excellent personality and behaviour.”

Ameez likened the Nishimura to a camel in terms of his excellent fitness.

“I first met Yuichi in Tokyo in 2006 during a fitness test for Japanese referees. He was so fit that he completed the test very confidently and with ease. He ran like a camel in the dessert and did not show any sign of tiredness.

“It is not wrong to say that he is one of the fittest referees in Asia. Besides, he is also very disciplined and hard working on top of being a keen learner.”