Canada's World Cup team is training in the U.S. Why?

With 17 days until the Canadian men's national team kicks off its World Cup campaign on home soil for the first time, players have begun flying in from their respective professional clubs in California, England, Belgium and beyond.

But instead of converging in Canada, those invited to the training camp are travelling to a destination roughly 800 kilometres south of the border. 

Charlotte, North Carolina's sprawling Atrium Health Performance Park — the training centre and headquarters for the city's Major League Soccer club — is hosting the Canadians all week. 

Head coach Jesse Marsch is also set to announce his final 26-man roster for this summer's global soccer showcase from the U.S. city on Friday.

So, with the team guaranteed to play its first three World Cup matches in Canada, why hold the key meetup in the U.S.?

Marsch said it mainly comes down to the weather.

"Our Canadian boys are not used to playing in the high levels of heat," the Wisconsin-born coach said Monday when asked by CBC News at a news conference.

With World Cup games set to be played in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, "we're going to see higher temperatures ... more humidity, and we're going to see more national teams that struggle to understand how to manage that in their play," Marsch told reporters.

He pointed to Canada's breakout performance at the scorching 2024 Copa América in the U.S., where the team exceeded expectations to reach the semi-finals. Ahead of the tournament, Marsch recalled training in Atlanta, Ga., where he said temperatures hit 38 C.

An outdoor training session in Charlotte initially set for Tuesday morning was rescheduled until later in the afternoon, when forecasters are calling for higher temperatures