Singapore won the tournament by a 5–2 victory in the two-legged final against Indonesia to secure their second title.

They were the hot favourites to win the 2004 AFF Championship after bundling out the hosts Vietnam with an unexpected 3–0 victory.

Following the tournament motto "Anything can happen", Myanmar, under coach Ivan Kolev emerged as the surprise, holding defending champions Thailand to a draw and beating Malaysia on their own turf.

All teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) participated with the exception of Brunei.

However, they would be replaced by East Timor when sponsors Tiger Beer stated in May 2004 that the world's newest country at the time would be joining the competition.