World Cup: 50,000 England fans expected for match with Ecuador

Stuttgart police chief Siegfried Stumpf said 1,800 of his officers would be on patrol, along with a contingent of British police.

Photo: World Cup: 50,000 England fans expected for match with Ecuador

World Cup: 50,000 England fans expected for match with Ecuador

Stephen Thomas, an assistant chief constable from Manchester and part of the British contingent working with German police, said that he was optimistic that there would be no fan violence.

Previous England games in Cologne, Nuremberg and Frankfurt were relatively calm, giving organizers a pleasant surprise in view of England's past reputation for hooliganism.

Thomas said that, of 3,842 people arrested in total during the two weeks of the tournament so far, only 135 were English, according to the AP.

"Many of those were drunk, and many were desperately trying to get to the stadium. We've had fans dressed up as stewards, and trying to convince the authorities to let them in," he said. "We've had fans jumping over fences, and all of them have been caught."