At 23 years of age, Matti Peltola has become one of the leaders on DC United. Since his arrival from HJK Helsinki in February 2024, Peltola moved quickly into a starting role and has become one of the established veterans on a team that is improving after several roster makeovers. But as he’s grown into his role, he’s started to appreciate the little bits of improvement that has been apparent this season for the Black-and-Red.

Well, it’s easy to say, if we compare it to previous years, that this has definitely been a step forward for us as a team and as a club,” Peltola said in an exclusive sit-down with The District Press. “I still think there’s a lot we can improve and we’ll do our best to improve so that we’ll have even better results and we’ll be having better performances also. But overall, I think it’s. It has been a positive start of the season…for us.”

Sure, capturing the Wooden Spoon as Major League Soccer’s worst team last season wasn’t what anyone wanted. But Peltola has noted the mentality has changed and understands what needs to get better as the team tries to end the league’s longest active playoff drought.

“What [mentality] means to me is that you have a team that has a huge hunger to go somewhere as a team,” Peltola remarked. “[You] want to achieve something and it really takes everyone on the team to be part of that, because when you have a group of 20-plus players that have the hunger inside them and they want to do something great for the club, then you really have the power of having the possibility to take better results than what you might expect from the team.”

That road to having a team mentality or culture isn’t straight and paved all the time. There are ups and downs, and the start of the 2026 season has had that. They’ve had the lows of a 3-match losing streak, which was bookended by a 4-0 home loss to FC Dallas and a loss on penalties to USL League One side One Knoxville at home to get bounced from the US Open Cup. But the they went on a 5-match unbeaten streak that included a comeback home win against Orlando City followed by a 2-0 road win in Queens against New York City FC. And consistency has been the key in Peltola’s mind as he hopes DC United is a team that makes opponents “uncomfortable” when they line up against them.

“I think now lately we’ve managed to build a solid base on basically being solid defensively,” Peltola said when speaking about what the team has gained this season. “I know we conceded three goals [in a loss to the Chicago Fire on May 13th], but I think overall we are a team that is hard to play against and that needs to be something that is deep in our DNA. But then on the other side of the coin is how we can be better with the ball, how we can maximize our own opportunities, and create even more opportunities with the ball. So I think that’s something we’ll look to improve.”

He credits René Weiler, who took over as DC United head coach last August, in creating a shape that everyone feels comfortable playing, even giving him the freedom to roam forward and look for chances to take a shot on goal. Matti scored his first MLS goal in March in a 2-1 win against the Chicago Fire, and he mentioned that the team’s shape gives him those opportunities.

“Something that I would say that probably stands out the most is how we are when we’re on the pitch. We are more compact, we’re more united as a team, which makes everyone’s job easier in the first place,” Peltola said of Weiler’s game model. “In the previous years, there might have been games or at least situations happening quite often in the games that we’re so open an opponent might be able to just run through. And I think that’s something that hasn’t happened, at least not to that extent that it did in the previous years.”

He also said that unlike previous years, he’s given more liberty to pick and choose the times he becomes more involved in the attack. “Like, of course you need to have the balance. That’s our role as a midfielder is to kind of evaluate the situation and then see, ‘Okay, is it the moment for me to push or stay?’ So, the message has been from the coaching staff also to encourage me to do more [offensively].”

As DC United prepare for their final match this weekend against CF Montreal before the World Cup break begins, Matti Peltola is grateful for any time off he gets, no matter how short it may be.

“So we’ll have, I think, couple weeks off as a team. But I will go to [Finnish national team camp] and…we’ll play against Germany and Hungary. So let’s see how many days I’ll actually get to have off and completely relax and take for rest,” he said with a smile and a quick chuckle. Peltola also mentioned he’s excited for the World Cup to be here in the United States and the unique opportunity it presents to attract new fans to watch the team play and become more invested in MLS.

“I think there’s a huge potential population that might be interested in soccer that yet isn’t that interested,” Peltola opined of the opportunity the league has to capture the attention of new fans. “So I think now that they we have the World cup here, I think it’s great because it’ll attract a lot of interest from the people. And I think the more people, especially in the United States, are interested in soccer, the better is for sports overall, because this is a huge market. Whenever it comes to any sports or any business, the U.S. is the place to be. So, I think that’s a great thing.

“But also directly to Major League Soccer and D.C. United because obviously, it’ll hopefully put some interest on us. Also after the break when some fans will be watching…This is interesting and hopefully we’ll have a good boost for the whole league and us as a team also.”

Ultimately, the World Cup may attract some fans to Audi Field to learn more about DC United and players like Matti Peltola. But, results will keep them there. DC United want to close out the first part of the season on a high and give Black-and-Red fans something to be excited about when the World Cup begins on June 11th.