In an expanded competition, with six South American teams making it through automatically, Brazil have a six-point cushion over a Venezuela team who have just registered their first victory in 10 games.
With four rounds to go, it is impossible to see Brazil not making the cut. But that is hardly the point.
For Brazil, World Cup qualification now serves one purpose – it provides a sequence of competitive matches during which they hope to build a side capable of winning the trophy. And with just over a year to go until 2026, that looks a long way off.
It is easy to forget how good Brazil were in the last World Cup, where they lost in the quarter-finals on penalties to a Croatia team whose only shot on goal in the match took a cruel deflection.
The Qatar 2022 Brazil side were solid – goalkeeper Alisson could have taken a deckchair out for most of the games – with flashes of brilliance. They could have won that competition.
So why have they fallen back so much? How can a team packed with so many good players form such a dismal unit?
The team that were thrashed 4-1 by Argentina on Tuesday appeared to have no midfield, and were unable either to attack or defend.