The Tunisia national football team is set to face Japan in match 1000 of the FIFA World Cup, which will take place on June 20 at the Monterrey stadium. This match is a historic event in the tournament's record, prompting FIFA to assign a special refereeing team, with Istvan Kovacs being assisted by his fellow Romanians Ferenc Tóth and Mihai Marica. FIFA confirmed that Kovacs' selection was not related to the symbolic nature of match 1000, but rather due to his high refereeing competence, being one of the best referees in Europe in recent years. The tournament's sponsor presented a special jersey for this match to the referee and his assistant team, featuring golden lines and a commemorative badge with the number 1000. Kovacs is 41 years old and is considered one of the most prominent referees in the European continent, having previously refereed important matches in the Champions League. He also participated in the 2022 Qatar World Cup as a fourth referee, before now getting the chance to lead his first match in the World Cup as a main referee. Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of FIFA's Referees Committee, stated that this appointment represents a special honor, noting that the Romanian referee will lead the match according to the same strict standards adopted by the committee in all matches, beyond the celebratory nature of the occasion.