East Bengal won the final 2–1 to claim their 16th Durand Cup title. Captain Chandan Das scored a brace for East Bengal including a last minute winner as East Bengal won the title.[3]
East Bengal entered the 2004 Durand Cup as one of the National Football League teams and the runner-up from the previous season. They were allocated into Group B alongside Army XI and Sporting Club de Goa. In the opening game East Bengal defeated Army XI 3–1. Paulo Roberto da Silva scored a brace and Chandan Das scored the other for East Bengal.[4] In the second game, East Bengal defeated Sporting Club de Goa 4–0 as Ernest Jeremiah scored a debut hattrick and Chandan Das scored the other as East Bengal topped the group and reached the last four.[5] In the semi-final, East Bengal defeated JCT 1–0 with Syed Rahim Nabi scoring the solitary goal as East Bengal reached their third consecutive Durand Cup final.[6]
Mohun Bagan entered the 2004 Durand Cup as one of the National Football League teams and were allocated into Group C alongside State Bank of Travancore and Assam Rifles. In the opening game, Mohun Bagan defeated Assam Rifles 5–0 as Sunil Chhetri scored a brace while Mehtab Hossain, Eduardo and Dharamjit Singh scored the other three.[7] In the second match, Mohun Bagan defeated State Bank of Travancore 3–1. Noel Wilson, Mehtab Hossain and Eduardo scored for Bagan as they topped the group and reached the last four.[8] In the semi-final, Mohun Bagan defeated the defending champions Salgaocar 5–4 in penalty shootout after the game ended goalless after added extra time as Mohun Bagan reached the finals.[9]
