Matti Peltola
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-07-03) 3 July 2002
Place of birth Espoo, Finland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, Defender
Team information
Current team
 HJK
Number 14
Youth career
Keimolan Kaiku
2012–2018 HJK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Klubi 04 29 (2)
2019– HJK 53 (2)
International career‡
2018 Finland U16 3 (0)
2019 Finland U17 8 (0)
2019 Finland U18 2 (0)
2021– Finland U21 5 (1)
2023– Finland 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023

Matti Peltola (born 3 July 2002) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as midfielder and defender for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland national team.[1][2]

Early years

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]

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.[9] On 26 March 2023, he made his competitive international debut in a 0–1 away win against Northern Ireland. He was capped four times in total for Finland in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification campaign in 2023.[10]

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.[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 November 2023[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cups [lower-alpha 1] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2018 Ykkönen 1000—10
2019 Kakkonen 2111[lower-alpha 2]0—221
2020 1120—31
2021 Ykkönen 3000—30
2022 Kakkonen 3000—30
Total 2923000322
HJK 2019 Veikkausliiga 10000010
2020 0041—41
2021 160009[lower-alpha 3]0250
2022 1505012[lower-alpha 4]0320
2023 212508[lower-alpha 3]0342
Total 532141290953
Career total 8241712901255

International

As of match played on 17 November 2023.
National teamYearCompetitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland 20234[lower-alpha 5]0 1 0 5 0
Total 4 0 1 0 5 0
  1. ↑ Includes Finnish Cup and Finnish League 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. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification.

Honours

Club

HJK Helsinki

Individual

  • Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2023[13]

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. ↑ FINLAND VS. ESTONIA 0–1, soccerway
  10. ↑ M. PELTOLA, soccerway
  11. ↑ "Matti, olet tähti" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat.
  12. ↑ "Flashscore: Matti Peltola".
  13. ↑ Toimittajat äänestivät: Tässä on Veikkausliigan tähdistöjoukkue, Iltalehti, 21 October 2023
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