 This allowed them to advance to the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup for the first time, but they lost 4–0 at that stage to the eventual champions, the United States.At the 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup in Panama, El Salvador finished third again, with Juan Ramón Paredes as head coach.In the tournament, they won 2–1 against Panama, lost 1–0 to Costa Rica, beat Nicaragua 3–0 and Honduras 1–0, and lost 2–0 against Guatemala.