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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*
Years Team Apps (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]

Early life

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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

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HJK Helsinki

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Club

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As of 28 October 2024[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup [a] Continental Other Total
Division 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[b] 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 0 0 1 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 12[d] 0 2[e] 0 32 0
2023 Veikkausliiga 21 2 0 0 8[c] 0 5[e] 0 34 2
Total 53 2 7 1 29 0 7 0 96 3
D.C. United 2024 MLS 31 0 0 0 – 3[f] 0 34 0
Career total 113 4 9 1 29 0 11 0 162 5
  1. ^ Includes Finnish Cup
  2. ^ Includes Kakkonen Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Finnish League Cup
  6. ^ Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

International

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As of match played on 13 October 2024.
National team Year Competitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland 2023 4[a] 0 1 0 5 0
2024 5[b] 0 3 0 8 0
Total 9 0 4 0 13 0
  1. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification.
  2. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification and 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B.

Honours

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HJK Helsinki

Individual

  • Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2023[17]

References

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  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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