No Australian ref was selected for this year's World Cup. Only three other nations - Belgium, Portugal and South Korea - have a team competing at the tournament, but are unrepresented by a countryman wielding the whistle.

It's something overlooked among the month-long celebrations of star players, great goals and VAR controversies but the fact is that, just as it does for players, the World Cup represents the pinnacle for match officials.

Five Australians have reached that pinnacle. These are their stories.

Tony Boskovic - 1974 and 1982

Given referees are informed of their invitation long before playing squads are finalised, it may not be wide of the mark to call Tony Boskovic the World Cup's first Australian, period. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Tony Boskovic, Australia's first World Cup referee

His selection at the 1974 World Cup coincided with the first time that Australia as a team had qualified for the tournament. In their debut appearance, an entirely domestically-based squad faced fellow debutants East Germany, Chile, and the hosts and eventual winners, West Germany.

Also making their first - and only - appearance at the finals were the national teams of Zaire and Haiti. Boskovic wasn't involved in their matches, though. Instead, he hit the jackpot, sharing a pitch with one of the most gifted sides to grace international football.

With their vibrant, intelligent pass-and-move style, the Netherlands' team of the 1970s is widely considered the best team never to win the World Cup. And their final group match, against Bulgaria on 23 June, was assigned to Boskovic.

It was a terrifically sunny, picture-perfect afternoon at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. The stadium wasn't quite the cavernous behemoth that it is today - the stands back then only had one tier all the way around, but it still accommodated 54,000 spectators.

The Dutch, captained by the legendary Johan Cruyff, ran out easy 4-1 winners. Boskovic awarded Netherlands two first-half penalties, both covered by Johan Neeskens, while Johnny Rep also made the scoresheet.

To have gone from refereeing state finals in New South Wales to a match featuring such celebrated and globally-famous stars must have been quite something for the Yugoslava-born 41 year-old.

Boskovic missed the 1978 World Cup in Argentina but was recalled for the 1982 tournament in Spain, and was again involved a 4-1 win for a high-profile side. He was the fourth official as Karl-Heinz Rumenigge's hat-trick saw off Chile, then took full charge of Austria's 2-0 win over Algeria the following day.

He'd turned 49 at the start of the year. For the next tournament, due to be held in Mexico, it was time to step aside and let a new guy have a go...