The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Miami and Pasadena. The format of the tournament stayed the same as in 2000: twelve teams were split into four groups of three. The top two teams in each group would advance to the quarterfinals. Ecuador and South Korea were invited from outside CONCACAF.
Canada, who rode the coin toss all the way to winning the 2000 Cup, needed luck once again, as all games in Group D ended with a 2-0 result. Lots were drawn, with Canada and Haiti moving on to the next round; Ecuador did not. But the Canadian luck ran dry in the semifinals, as the US beat them on penalties after tying 0-0. The United States met Costa Rica in the final and topped them 2-0 behind goals by Josh Wolff and Jeff Agoos for their first tournament win since 1991.