Joel Julius Ilmari Pohjanpalo (born 13 September 1994) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie B club Palermo and the Finland national team.

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.

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.

[14] On 21 March 2016, Leverkusen announced that they had exercised their option to permanently sign Pohjanpalo from HJK Helsinki for a transfer fee of €1.5 million.

Pohjanpalo came off the bench in Leverkusen's second game of the season and scored a hat-trick, helping his side achieve a 3–1 win over Hamburger SV.

His time with Leverkusen was plagued by multiple severe injuries, which caused him to miss around 70 league games, and almost ended his career prematurely.

[16] During the seven years he was with the club, Pohjanpalo totalled only 28 appearances and scored eight goals for Leverkusen in all competitions combined, and when he was game-fit, he spent most of the time on loan.

On 18 March 2022, Pohjanpalo made a hat-trick after coming in from the bench as a 55th minute substitute, in a 3–2 win against Trabzonspor,[22] scoring all three goals from penalties.

On 19 August 2022, Pohjanpalo left Leverkusen and signed a three-year contract with Venezia in Italy, with an option to extend for two more years.

[25] In February, Pohjanpalo attracted wide international attention, as he celebrated his team's victory by having a beer with the fans at the stadium after the game.

[29] Despite the speculations and transfer rumours,[30] on 13 September 2023 on his 29th birthday, Pohjanpalo renewed his contract with Venezia, signing a new deal until 30 June 2027.

On 3 December, while being out of the line-up due to foot injury, Pohjanpalo and the club owner Duncan L. Niederauer were seen observing the match in the home stand with the ultra supporters, as Venezia defeated Ascoli at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo.

[34][35] On 15 March, in an away match against Palermo, Pohjanpalo received the standing ovation from the opposing team's home crowd after scoring a brace in a 3–0 win.

At the time of his departure, Pohjanpalo had scored 48 goals for Venezia, making him the fifth-best goalscorer in the club's entire history.

[45][46] On 16 February, in his second match with the club, Pohjanpalo scored his first goal for Palermo, providing also an assist for his team in a 2–2 draw against Mantova.

[48] 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.

[52] 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.