To decide which teams would qualify, a tournament was held in 2003 in Panama, from 30 October to 10 November in the Estadio Nacional de Panamá and the Estadio Juan Demóstenes Arosemena in Panama City and the Estadio José Antonio Remón Cantera in Aguadulce.
[2][3] Notably, the United States team did not qualify, after losing to Mexico in the quarterfinals.
[4][5] Although the tournament was originally scheduled to include 13 teams, four withdrew before their first game: Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Aruba and the Bahamas.
As the Bahamas were a last-minute withdrawal, the tournament structure was left unbalanced, with one group larger than the other.
Note: The game between the United States and Brazil was delayed due to weather.