Matti Peltola

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]

Matti Peltola

Personal information
Date of birth	(2002-07-03) 3 July 2002 (age 23)
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*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2022	Klubi 04	29	(2)
2019–2023	HJK	53	(2)
2024–	D.C. United	42	(0)
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	18	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 June 2025

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 May 2025^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Klubi 04	2018	Ykkönen	1	0	0	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2019	Kakkonen	21	1	0	0	1	0	—		—		22	1
	2020	Kakkonen	1	1	2	0	—		—		—		3	1
	2021	Ykkönen	3	0	0	0	—		—		—		3	0
	2022	Kakkonen	3	0	0	0	—		—		—		3	0
	Total		29	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	32	2
HJK	2019	Veikkausliiga	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		1	0
	2020	Veikkausliiga	0	0	4	1	—		—		—		4	1
	2021	Veikkausliiga	16	0	0	0	—		9[c]	0	—		25	0
	2022	Veikkausliiga	15	0	3	0	2	0	12[d]	0	—		32	0
	2023	Veikkausliiga	21	2	0	0	5	0	8[c]	0	—		34	2
	Total		53	2	7	1	7	0	29	0	0	0	96	3
D.C. United	2024	MLS	31	0	0	0	—		–		3[e]	0	34	0
	2025	MLS	11	0	2	0	—		–		0	0	13	0
	Total		42	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	47	0
Career total			124	4	11	1	0	0	29	0	11	0	175	5

1. Includes Finnish Cup and U.S. Open Cup
2. Includes Kakkonen Cup and Finnish League Cup
3. 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 24 March 2025

National team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Finland	2023	4[a]	0	1	0	5	0
	2024	6[b]	0	3	0	9	0
	2025	2[c]	0	0	0	2	0
Total		12	0	4	0	16	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.

Honours

HJK Helsinki

• Veikkausliiga: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• Finnish Cup: 2020
• Finnish League Cup: 2023

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2023^[17]