Matti Peltola

Matti Peltola
Peltola with DC United in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-07-03) 3 July 2002
Place of birth Espoo, Finland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 D.C. United
Number 4
Youth career
Keimolan Kaiku
2012–2018 HJK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Klubi 04 29 (2)
2019–2023 HJK 53 (2)
2024– D.C. United 71 (1)
International career‡
2018 Finland U16 3 (0)
2019 Finland U17 8 (0)
2019 Finland U18 2 (0)
2021–2025 Finland U21 7 (1)
2023– Finland 25 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 March 2026

Matti Peltola (born 3 July 2002) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as midfielder and defender for Major League Soccer franchise D.C. United and the Finland national team.[1][2]

Early life

Born in Espoo, Peltola started playing football in Belgium, where his family lived for a couple of years due to father's work. After returning to Finland, Peltola joined Keimolan Kaiku youth team in Vantaa.[3]

Club career

HJK Helsinki

Peltola played in the youth team of HJK in Munkkiniemi along with Santeri Väänänen since the age of ten, before making his debut in the first team in Veikkausliiga on 19 October 2019 against Ilves.[4]

On 21 August 2020, Peltola signed a professional contract with the club, on a two-year deal with an option for an additional year.[5]

On 23 August 2022, HJK announced that they had exercised their option to keep Peltola in Helsinki for the 2023 season.[6][7] He scored his first goal in the league on 9 May 2023 in away game against KTP.[8]

D.C. United

On February 2, 2024, Peltola signed with Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise D.C. United on a four-year contract, with the option to extend,[9] as a Young Designated Player. D.C. United had earlier acquired Peltola’s MLS Discovery Priority rights from Minnesota United for $75,000.[10] He debuted in MLS with his new team on 25 February 2024 in the 2024 season opening game, after being named in the starting line-up in a 3–1 home win against an old rival franchise New England Revolution.[11][12]

International career

Peltola represented Finland at various youth national teams, from under-16 to under-21 levels.

Peltola made his Finland senior national team debut on 12 January 2023, in a friendly match against Estonia.[13] On 26 March 2023, he made his competitive international debut in a 1–0 away win against Northern Ireland. He was capped four times in total for Finland in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification campaign in 2023.[14]

Personal life

Peltola is a fluent French-speaker and has attended the French–Finnish school of Helsinki. Growing up, he also played ice hockey, before choosing football over it, thanks to his mother's advice.[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of 22 May 2026[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup [a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2018 Ykkönen 1000———10
2019 Kakkonen 2110010——221
2020 Kakkonen 1120———31
2021 Ykkönen 3000———30
2022 Kakkonen 3000———30
Total 29220100000322
HJK 2019 Veikkausliiga 1000—00—10
2020 Veikkausliiga 0041———41
2021 Veikkausliiga 16000—9[c]0—250
2022 Veikkausliiga 150302012[d]0—320
2023 Veikkausliiga 21200508[c]0—342
Total 532717029000963
D.C. United 2024 MLS 31000——3[e]0340
2025 MLS 26030———290
2026 MLS 14111———152
Total 71141000030782
Career total 153513280290302067
  1. ↑ Includes Finnish Cup and U.S. Open Cup
  2. ↑ Includes Kakkonen Cup and Finnish League Cup
  3. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  5. ↑ Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played on 30 March 2026
National teamYearCompetitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland 20234[a]0 1 0 5 0
20246[b]0 3 0 9 0
20257[c]02090
20260[d]0 2[e] 0 2 0
Total 17 0 8 0 25 0
  1. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification.
  2. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification and 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B.
  3. ↑ Appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
  4. ↑ Appearances in the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League C.
  5. ↑ Includes two appearances in the 2026 FIFA Series.

Honours

HJK Helsinki

Finland

Individual

  • Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2023[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Tulospalvelu".
  2. ↑ Player profile, HJK
  3. ↑ "Matti, olet tähti" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat.
  4. ↑ Soccerway, Ilves – HJK
  5. ↑ Matti Peltola jatkaa Klubissa, HJK, 21 August 2020
  6. ↑ HJK käytti neljän pelaajansa optiot, HJK 23 August 2022
  7. ↑ "Matti Peltola, 20, nousi sydänoperaation kautta huipulle" (in Finnish). Yle.
  8. ↑ KTP VS. HJK 3–3, soccerway
  9. ↑ D.C. United Sign Finland National Team Midfielder Matti Peltola, dcunited.com, 2 February 2024
  10. ↑ Huuhkajien komeetta siirtyy jättisopimuksella – avaa nyt puhuttanutta ratkaisuaan: "Valehtelisin, jos sanoisin", mtvuutiset.fi, 2 February 2024
  11. ↑ UNITED - NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION LINE-UP, Eurosport
  12. ↑ Matti Peltola vakuutti MLS-debyytissään, fanit protestoivat katsomossa, Helsingin Sanomat, 25 February 2024
  13. ↑ FINLAND VS. ESTONIA 0–1, soccerway
  14. ↑ M. PELTOLA, soccerway
  15. ↑ "Matti, olet tähti" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat.
  16. ↑ "Flashscore: Matti Peltola".
  17. ↑ "Huuhkajat voitti Uuden-Seelannin FIFA Series -turnauksen". www.palloliitto.fi. 30 March 2026.
  18. ↑ Toimittajat äänestivät: Tässä on Veikkausliigan tähdistöjoukkue, Iltalehti, 21 October 2023
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