Tens of thousands of fans celebrated noisily but peacefully Sunday in the streets of this southern city as England advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup with a 1-0 win against Ecuador.

Nearly 2,000 police officers, some in riot gear, were on standby to head off potential violence but there were no signs of any immediate problems following two nights of sporadic clashes which saw nearly 500 people arrested.

English soccer fans celebrate their team's first goal during the second round soccer World Cup 2006 match against Ecuador at a 'fan-fest' in Stuttgart city centre, June 25, 2006. [Reuters]

"Everything is calm at the moment," said police spokeswoman Christiane Honer. She said at least 30,000 English fans had gathered in front of the free public viewing of the match, in addition to those in the stadium itself.

Beer and expletives flowed freely in a downtown square as fans, many of them clad in Union Jacks and wearing patriotic tattoos, watched a mediocre game punctuated only by David Beckham's goal.

But the mood was relaxed and families with children _ some carrying the German flag _ and middle aged couples mingled among fans clad in Union Jacks.

"The game was rubbish but the atmosphere's great," said John Holmes as he danced around .

"It's a party. We're here to have fun," whooped Kevin Penfold as he swapped his red England shirt for an Ecuadoran one worn by Ana Cecilia Pinos Flores.

"The English fans are very friendly and nice," said Flores as she struggled to get into the stranger's sweaty shirt.

Nearby an English fan with his chest hairs dyed ginger and shaved in the shape of a cross grinned benignly in an alcoholic daze as his friends covered him in a flag.

The mood was also celebratory at the stadium.

Police kept a low profile but said they had dispatched 1,800 officers, a force boosted by hooligan experts from England as part of a largely successfully cooperative effort to prevent trouble at soccer's showcase tournament. British bobbies mingled among the crowd.

But authorities were busy ahead of the afternoon match against Ecuador. On Saturday, police in riot gear arrested nearly 500 English fans after two separate incidents involving bottle and chair throwing but only five injuries.

English fans sang "God Save The Queen" in the same downtown square where police arrested 378 people, all but a handful of them English, following a Saturday night clash between English and German fans on Saturday night. All but three were released Sunday morning, in part because of a lack of detention space, police spokesman Stefan Keilbach said.

The fans were banned from the downtown area until Monday morning, though Keilbach said police would only know of violations if the fans caused further problems. All those arrested and released had been photographed, but Keilbach said it was impractical to hand out so many pictures to all the officers on patrol.

The arrests followed a clash with police early Saturday during which 122 English were arrested. Of those, 117 will remain in custody until Monday morning.

Police spokeswoman Honer said many fans were leaving on trains almost immediately after the match. She said others were expected to congregate in city center bars.