Matti Peltola

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Matti Peltola
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-07-03) 3 July 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Espoo, Finland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, Defender
Team information
Current team
 D.C. United
Number 4
Youth career
Keimolan Kaiku
2012–2018 HJK
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2022 Klubi 04 29 (2)
2019–2023 HJK 53 (2)
2024– D.C. United 31 (0)
International career‡
2018 Finland U16 3 (0)
2019 Finland U17 8 (0)
2019 Finland U18 2 (0)
2021– Finland U21 5 (1)
2023– Finland 13 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2024

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]

Contents

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 28 October 2024 [16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCup [lower-alpha 1] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2018 Ykkönen 1000——10
2019 Kakkonen 21100—1 [lower-alpha 2] 0221
2020 Kakkonen1120——31
2021Ykkönen3000——30
2022Kakkonen3000——30
Total292200010322
HJK 2019 Veikkausliiga 100000—10
2020 Veikkausliiga0041——41
2021 Veikkausliiga160009 [lower-alpha 3] 0—250
2022 Veikkausliiga1503012 [lower-alpha 4] 02 [lower-alpha 5] 0320
2023 Veikkausliiga212008 [lower-alpha 3] 05 [lower-alpha 5] 0342
Total5327129070963
D.C. United 2024 MLS 31000–3 [lower-alpha 6] 0340
Career total1134912901101625
  1. ↑ Includes Finnish Cup
  2. ↑ Includes Kakkonen 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. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Finnish League Cup
  6. ↑ Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played on 13 October 2024.
National teamYearCompetitiveFriendlyTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Finland 20234 [lower-alpha 1] 01050
20245 [lower-alpha 2] 03080
Total9040130

Honours

HJK Helsinki

Individual

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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. ↑ Toimittajat äänestivät: Tässä on Veikkausliigan tähdistöjoukkue, Iltalehti, 21 October 2023
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