With Hyundai, the first robotic integration in a live gaming environment already looks to future applications in the industrial sector as well.

As Erling Haaland soared imperiously above defender Gabriel Magalhães to head home Norway's 2-0 lead against Brazil in the round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, another protagonist entered the playing fieldBut he wasn't wearing a jersey and didn't belong to either team.

For the first time in the history of the tournament, in fact, a humanoid robot was the protagonist of a live integration during a World Cup match. This is Atlas, developed by Boston Dynamics and part of the technological ecosystem of Hyundai Motor Group, who reached the centre of the pitch to hand the ball to the referee before the restart of play, then greeted the crowd with some celebrations inspired by those of the footballers.

The initiative is just the highlight of the campaign “School of Football”, launched by Hyundai in the weeks leading up to the championship. Through a series of dedicated contents, Atlas has undertaken a journey of learning the fundamentals of football, transforming the most followed sport in the world into a tool to tell the evolution of roboticsA goal that, however, goes far beyond the pitch.

If the campaign uses football as a universal language to show how robots can collaborate with people, at the same time it anticipates scenarios intended primarily for the world of workIt's the same vision that also drives the development of technologies like X-ble Shoulder, Hyundai's wearable exoskeleton, which recently became the first wearable robot in South Korea to achieve national KS certification.

This is how Atlas learned to play soccer before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Even before arriving on the pitch at the World Cup, Atlas had already become the protagonist of the campaign “School of Football”, launched by Hyundai Motor between May 25 and 29 through its global social media channels. The five-episode series tells the story of the learning path of the humanoid robot Following a progression very similar to that of a novice soccer player. It all starts with observation: Atlas studies the emotions of fans, their enthusiasm, and the energy surrounding soccer, thus developing a sort of "curiosity" about the sport.

From here a real journey begins training, during which the robot progressively learns the fundamentals, from ball control to passing, and even shooting. Episode after episode, the movements become increasingly fluid and complex, following a logic based on continuous learning, repetition, and refinement. The journey culminates with the execution of the Ghost Rabona, one of the most spectacular and complex technical moves in football, which highlights the level of precision achieved by Atlas.

"With School of Football, Hyundai Motor is using the universal language of football to showcase the next chapter in robotics in an engaging, intuitive, and human-centered way. As we approach the 2026 FIFA World Cup™, Atlas' journey reflects our belief that innovation comes from people—from their passion, creativity, and ability to express themselves—and that robotics can help expand what's possible in the future."

he had made it known Sungwon Jee, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer of Hyundai Motor Company.

Beyond football: why Atlas is already looking to the future of work

Behind this great narrative lies a very concrete engineering workAll the movements shown in the campaign were actually performed by Atlas, without the use of computer graphics. To learn complex moves like the Ghost Rabona, the robot analyzed the movements of soccer players in detail, transforming them into physical simulations on which it was trained through reinforcement learning, repeating thousands of attempts until it optimized its balance, coordination, precision, and ability to adapt in real time to changes in body weight.

Hyundai has used football as a practical demonstration of the potential of so-called Physical AI, showing how a robot can acquire motor skills in dynamic and unpredictable environments. The same principle is destined to find applications well beyond sport: the group in fact plans to also use Atlas in industrial contexts, with the aim of developing new forms of collaboration between humans and robots in production activities.

The performance that marked a first in the history of the World Cup

The performance during Brazil-Norway was a real one public demonstration of Atlas's capabilities. After emerging from the players' tunnel, the humanoid robot performed a sequence of celebrations inspired by some of the most iconic international footballers, including Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Matheus Cunha, and Son Heung-min, before moving to the center of the pitch and accurately handing the ball to the referee before the start of the second half. The entire activation took place live in front of the stadium crowd and millions of spectators, demonstrating the robot's ability to operate in a real and unpredictable environment.

For Hyundai Motor Group It therefore represented a double milestone: the first public demonstration of Atlas's movement capabilities and the first integration of a humanoid robot into the competitive environment of a FIFA World Cup match. The initiative is also part of a broader global campaign “Next Starts Now”, with which Hyundai intends to demonstrate how technologies that until recently were confined to laboratories can find concrete application in real contexts, bringing robotics closer to people through shared and easily understandable experiences. Below are the words of Sungwon Jee:

“As part of the campaign “Next Starts Now” At Hyundai, we wanted Atlas's performance on the world's biggest stage to demonstrate that the future isn't something we imagine: it's already here. At Hyundai, we're committed to developing human-centered innovation that can seamlessly integrate into everyday life and promoting a new vision of future mobility, augmented by robotics, demonstrating how robots can become trusted partners in human progress through creative and engaging brand experiences.

From the playing field to the factory floor: the future of robotics has already begun.

Atlas's appearance at the World Cup, as mentioned, represents above all a preview of the direction taken by Hyundai Motor Group in the field of robotics. While the playing field has indeed offered a demonstration of the potential achieved by Physical AI, the ultimate goal remains to transfer these technologies into production environments. where robots and people can work side by sideThe group thus continues to invest in the development of autonomous systems and human-centered solutions, with the aim of making robotics a tangible presence in everyday and industrial activities.

This strategy is already finding its first application in X-ble Shoulder, the wearable exoskeleton developed by Hyundai to assist those performing jobs that require frequent arm movements above shoulder level. The device, recently the first wearable robot in South Korea to obtain national KS certification, is designed to reduce muscle fatigue and relieve shoulder strain during repetitive tasks, helping improve working conditions in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, shipbuilding, aerospace, and agriculture.

From the exoskeleton to humanoid robots like Atlas, the direction is the same: to develop technologies capable of supporting people in the most demanding tasks, transforming innovations born in laboratories into concrete tools for the world of work.

Atlas's entrance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, before handing the ball over to the referee

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