A qualifying 3 versus 3 football match featuring humanoid robots kicked off in Beijing on Monday, serving as a prelude to the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, which is scheduled to open on Thursday. Six competing robots took to the indoor field for the match, their teams differentiated by their red and blue vests. With their movements powered by AI, the humanoid athletes coordinated attacks and defenses, demonstrating solid skills in scoring and blocking. Zhao Wenjin, a member of a team responsible for developing and operating the robots, said recent years have witnessed leapfrog advances in research and development of humanoid robotics, and the results have shone through on the pitch. The qualifying tournament follows a round-robin format, with matches played simultaneously on three fields. A total of 26 teams, representing universities, companies, and overseas participants, are competing. The preliminaries will run for two days, with the finals scheduled for Friday. Featuring 280 teams from 16 countries and regions including China, the United States and Germany, the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games will bring together more than 500 humanoid robots, representing over 100 models from top global manufacturers. The event will run through Aug 17 with 26 at Beijing's iconic National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the "Ice Ribbon", with competitions across three major categories: competitive events, demonstrations and scenario-based challenges, testing the robots' agility, decision-making, and technical capabilities in both sports and real-world applications. Shotlist: Beijing, China - Aug 11, 2025: 1. Various of humanoid robots playing football during qualifying 3V3 match; 2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhao Wenjin, team member responsible for developing, operating robots (starting with shot 1/ending with shot 3): "We went neck and neck with our opponents at the match, as both sides couldn't outplay each other easily. Our focus was on teamwork between multiple robots. Several years ago, we needed someone to follow behind to ensure the safety of robots, but now you can see all robots can compete fully autonomously."; 3. Various of humanoid robots playing football during qualifying 3V3 match; 4. Team members cheering for goals; 5. Spectators on sidelines; 6. Match in progress. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]