he decided to head back to Wales. Charles signed on a free transfer to Oswestry Town in May 1967, before moving on to Haverfordwest County later in the year; both clubs competed in the Welsh Football League. He enjoyed his time in Pembrokeshire and went on to play close to 200 games for County, mostly as a centre-half. He left the club in 1972 to return to the Cwmbwrla district of Swansea, where he set up an amateur side called Cwmfelin. After he retired from competitive football he had kneecap replacements in both his legs. International career Charles made his debut for Wales in a game against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park on 20 April 1955; the Welsh won 3–2 thanks to a John Charles hat-trick. His second cap came against Austria on 23 November, in a game latter dubbed the 'Battle of Wrexham'. He was stretchered off with fifteen minutes to go after an Austrian boot went through the back of his leg; this was notable as the only time John ever lost his temper, as he reacted to the challenge by lifting the Austrian off the ground and screaming "If you ever do that to my brother again I'll bloody kill you!" Charles was then selected for the 1957 British Home Championship squad, and helped his country to record a 2–2 draw with Scotland at Ninian Park. He also battled against injury to play in the 3–1 defeat to England at Wembley Stadium, before the tournament ended with a goalless draw in Ireland. He helped Wales to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden – the only time thus far that the nation has qualified for the competition. They were drawn in a difficult qualifying group consisting of themselves, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany. A Roy Vernon goal gave Wales two opening points at home to the Czechs – this was John Charles' final game before his big money move to Juventus. In the second game, Mel gave Wales an opening lead against the East Germans, only for the Germans to come back to record a 2–1 win in front of 100,000 supporters at the Zentralstadion. The return fixture to the Czechs at Prague ended with a 2–0 defeat, seemingly ending Welsh hopes of qualification. Juventus did not allow John to play in the final match, but Mel put in one of his best performances in a