If Friday night’s match between England and Holland has taught us anything, it’s that the World Cup in Russia this June is going to be a bloodbath.

5 234 official England Supporters Club ticket holders travelled for Friday night’s friendly (yeah, sure) at the Amsterdam Arena, but the match was marred by violence both before and after kick-off.

All told more than 100 English fans were arrested, with 90 on Friday alone.

Before we get to footage of the hooligans in action, here’s BBC Sport:

Riot police detained 60 people in the red light district, officers said.

A number of fans booed the Dutch national anthem before England’s 1-0 victory, an act manager Gareth Southgate described as “unacceptable”…

A police spokesman said the arrests were mainly for “disturbing the peace”.

“Some were arrested because they were throwing beer bottles in the direction of officers,” a statement read.

That they most certainly were…

This additional footage shows the general recklessness:

And of course there was footage of some of these ‘lads’ popping in to visit a lady friend:

According to National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) deputy chief constable Mark Roberts, who spoke to Sky News, the behaviour of the English fans is indicative of a worrying trend:

“Last night resulted in the largest number of arrests for a single game we have seen for several years and, unfortunately, it follows a worrying trend observed at recent fixtures.

“It also brings into question the wisdom of having this game in Amsterdam on a Friday night…

“The behaviour of a large number of England supporters was appalling; it was witnessed by our officers and any attempts to downplay it are wide of the mark.

“The sad fact is that the drunken mob’s behaviour reinforces the negative stereotype of England supporters, and will impact on the treatment all fans can expect when they follow the team abroad.”

It’s sad that a police deputy chief has to argue that such a match shouldn’t be played on a Friday night, because a bunch of grown men cannot be trusted to show a sniff of common sense and decency.

Security forces at this year’s World Cup need to be ready for out and out war.

[sources:bbcsport&skynews]