Joel Pohjanpalo

Club

As of match played 7 September 2026

International

As of match played 5 June 2026

As of match played 27 March 2026 Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pohjanpalo goal.

Youth

Pohjanpalo represented Finland at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 youth international levels. He made his debut for the Finland under-21 national team at the age of 17 on 5 June 2012 against Slovenia.

Senior

Pohjanpalo made his senior national team debut on 14 November 2012 in a 3−0 victory against Cyprus when he replaced Teemu Pukki as a substitute on the 70th minute. He was close to scoring in a friendly against Slovenia when his shot hit the post and was then finished by Kasper Hämäläinen. In the next friendly game against Hungary he finished his first international goal entering the field as a substitute and equalising the game. He made his UEFA European Championship qualification match debut on 7 September 2014 in a match against Faroe Islands when he entered as an 89th-minute substitute for Teemu Pukki. He scored his first goal in a competitive match on 4 September 2015 in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match in Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus against Greece. On 12 June 2021, Pohjanpalo scored the only goal, a header, in a 1–0 win over Denmark, in Finland's opening match in the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, granting his country their first goal and win in a major competition. He abstained from celebrating the goal out of respect for Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, who had suffered a life-threatening cardiac arrest earlier during the match.

Born in Helsinki, Finland, Pohjanpalo started football in a youth team of a Helsinki-based club PK-35 in 1999. He joined HJK Helsinki youth sector when aged 11.

HJK

A product of his hometown club HJK, Pohjanpalo emerged through the youth ranks, first appearing with the reserve team (Klubi-04) in 2011 at the age of 16. He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 26 October 2011, starting against RoPS. During his first season in the Finnish second division with Klubi 04, he made 21 appearances, scored a record-breaking 33 league goals and was awarded as the series player of the season. Following his excellent performances with the reserves, Pohjanpalo signed a new contract with HJK on 7 December 2011, keeping him in the Finnish capital until 2015. Pohjanpalo started HJK's first league match of the 2012 Veikkausliiga season on 15 April 2012, scoring a hat-trick within the space of three minutes (162 seconds) against IFK Mariehamn. After a three-day trial with Liverpool in August 2012, Pohjanpalo was offered a three-year contract but rejected the deal due to a lack of guaranteed playing time for Liverpool F.C. Reserves. He finished the 2012 season at HJK with 19 goals in 42 games in all competitions. He was awarded as the Veikkausliiga rookie of the season.

Bayer Leverkusen and loans

2013–14: VfR Aalen (loan)

On 1 September 2013, Pohjanpalo was loaned to Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen for a loan fee of €500,000, who then loaned him further to 2.…

Pohjanpalo and his German girlfriend Catharina Gericke were married in the midsummer 2022. The wedding ceremony was held in Southern France. They have a daughter, born in 2024. As of 2024, they have homes in Helsinki, Finland, Düsseldorf, Germany and Venezia, Italy. Until 2025, Pohjanpalo was a co-owner of a physical therapy and physical coaching company Helsinki Athletic Lab, along with his national team and Venezia teammate Jesse Joronen. Since the age of 17, Pohjanpalo has been a sponsor for Valio Akatemia, a project of Finnish dairy manufacturer Valio, supporting children's sport hobbies and wellbeing by stipends. Pohjanpalo speaks Finnish, English, German and Italian.