"We had hooligans here but they did not attack each other. Rather we had extremely drunk fans who set on police and then on each other."

Tens of thousands of Germany and Poland supporters descended on the western German city to watch their teams in the match which kicked off at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), but for months the game has prompted fears of fan violence.

Last November about 100 German and Polish supporters brawled near the border.

Earlier on Wednesday, one group of German fans greeted their neighbours with the Hitler salute -- a criminal offence in the host country.

The relationship between the two countries, and especially the soccer fans, has been tense and marred by history as Poland suffered greatly under German occupation in World War Two.