Eintracht Frankfurt A
forward, Waldschmidt began his youth career in 2001 with SSV Oranien Frohnhausen and had youth spells at SSC Juno Burg and TSG Wieseck before joining the
Eintracht Frankfurt academy in 2010. On 25 April 2014, Waldschmidt signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal. This saw him promoted to the first team, although he would still appear for the under-19 team. Exactly one year later, on 25 April 2015, Waldschmidt made his
Bundesliga debut, as a 73rd-minute substitute for
Sonny Kittel in a 0–2 home loss to
Borussia Dortmund. He scored his first goal for Eintracht Frankfurt on 8 August in a 3–0 win over
Bremer SV in the
first round of the
German cup.
Hamburger SV On 30 June 2016, Waldschmidt signed for
Hamburger SV on a four-year contract. He made his first appearance for the
Hamburg club in the Bundesliga in a 0–4 home loss to
RB Leipzig on 17 September, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute, replacing
Bobby Wood. He scored his first goal for the club a few seconds after coming on, in a 4–0 win over
Hallescher FC on 24 October, in a second-round
cup fixture. On 20 May 2017, the last round of the
2016–17 Bundesliga season, Waldschmidt scored his first Bundesliga-goal, the decisive goal in a 2–1 win over relegation rivals
VfL Wolfsburg, in the 88th minute – two minutes after being substituted in. The goal meant that Hamburger SV avoided Bundesliga relegation play-offs for the first time in four years. In the
following season, Waldschmidt made 21 league appearances in which he scored one goal. At the end of the season, Hamburger SV were relegated to the
2. Bundesliga for the first time in the Bundesliga's 55-year history.
SC Freiburg In May 2018,
SC Freiburg announced they had signed Waldschmidt for the 2018–19 season from
Hamburger SV, newly relegated to the
2. Bundesliga. He finished his first campaign for the club with 30 appearances and nine goals.
Benfica On 14 August 2020,
Benfica announced the signing of Waldschmidt on a five-year deal for 15 million euros. Waldschmidt scored twice on his Benfica debut, a 5–1
Primeira Liga win over
Famalicão on 18 September 2020.
VfL Wolfsburg On 22 August 2021, Waldschmidt returned to Germany, signing a four-year contract with
VfL Wolfsburg.
1. FC Köln In July 2023, Waldschmidt joined
1. FC Köln on a one-year loan. On 19 June 2024, it was announced that he had signed for the club on a permanent basis. ==International career==