LEIPZIG, June 14 - A glut of great goals in highly competitive matches played in an old-fashioned sporting spirit in front of good-natured, sell-out crowds have all helped to produce a great start to the World Cup finals.

Spanish soccer fans celebrate in a fountain in central Madrid after watching Spain beat Ukraine 4-0 in their Group H World Cup 2006 soccer match on a giant screen in Colon Square, June 14, 2006.[Reuters]

With 16 matches, or one third of the group stage completed, FIFA and the security authorities could hardly have wished for a better few days to the month-long soccer extravaganza.

Even the weather has been on their side.

Unlike in 2002 when world champions France were sent crashing to a shock 1-0 opening day defeat by Senegal and the United States beat Portugal 3-2 in their first game, there have been no real surprises so far.

All the fancied teams have won and none of those making their World Cup debuts have managed victories yet.

But what has been more noticeable is that none of the debutants have been totally outclassed and all look capable of an upset before the group stage ends.

Ukraine, whose long-awaited appearance at a World Cup tournament ended in a crushing 4-0 defeat to Spain in Leipzig on Wednesday, are the only side to have been soundly beaten.

But every team has a day when nothing goes right, and unfortunately for Ukraine, theirs came on the biggest day in their soccer history.

SUPERB START

Hosts Germany set the tone for much of what has followed in the early minutes of the opening match against Costa Rica in Munich last Friday when Philipp Lahm scored with a curling long-range shot for the first goal of the finals.

The two sides produced a highly entertaining game which Germany won 4-2 -- the highest scoring opening match in the tournament's history.

Ecuador then produced the only really surprising result a few hours later with a well-deserved 2-0 win over Poland in the second Group A match in Gelsenkirchen.

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