The Dragons currently lie joint 112th in the world governing body's standings, level with a Faroe Islands side who were seeded above them at the recent draw for the 2014 qualifiers.

Since Mark Hughes took Wales to within an ace of reaching Euro 2004 it has been a tale of woe for the principality as they have slowly edged further down the standings.

Wales are already out of the race to reach next summer's European Championship finals and their friendly with Australia in Cardiff on Wednesday is being billed as the start of their preparations for their bid to qualify for Brazil.

And Cardiff striker Earnshaw believes their current position is false given the calibre of players such as Craig Bellamy, Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

He said: "I think the rankings are fake, they don't tell the truth.

"I know they have to have them and put everybody into groups when they need to be drawn but they don't tell the truth about what is really going on.

"I think it's exaggerated, but it's not something we need to think about. With everything that has gone on over a long period we have dropped down but if we come out against Australia, England and all these teams and we are a good side, and we play exciting football and score goals, that matters more than the rankings.

"It's a piece of paper that says we are in this position but if you look at the squad we are nowhere near that.

"But we are not focused on that, we have a different mentality and a different set-up and we are trying to improve the team.

"We are not caring too much about the rankings but about each game as it comes.

"We have good players, if you look at us on paper we have a lot of good players and a mix of experience and fresh faces.

"The manager wants to make the team better and when you are doing that you don't think about the rankings, it's more something for you guys (the media) to talk about."

Speed has only tasted victory once in four games since taking charge in December last year, claiming a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in their final Carling Nations Cup clash.

But Earnshaw, 30, believes the new belief and energy the former Wales skipper has brought to the camp since succeeding John Toshack will pay dividends.

"The manager has a real focus and drive," said Earnshaw.

"He has a real idea of where he wants the team to be and everyone is feeding off that.

"He has a way he wants to do things and he has certain things he want to improve and everyone is trying to follow that.

"He wants to make this team a better football team and get us into a better position.

"We have a real direction in terms of how we are trying to improve and how we can better and that's going to be worked on over the next six to 12 months before the next qualifiers.

"We have an extra belief that we can go further and we can be a better team.

"There is a freshness now and it's enjoyable.

"It was different (previously) but overall everything is fresh now and we are looking to the future. There have been times where we have not had that focus on improving and what we are trying to do."

Earnshaw, who has 54 caps and 16 goals to his name, is also buoyed by Wales' Group A draw for those World Cup qualifiers.

They have avoided drawing big names such as Germany, Spain and Holland and are grouped with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Macedonia, who will be coached by former Wales boss Toshack.

Earnshaw said: "Teams like Germany usually qualify, they have that history of always qualifying, but we are not facing that type of side.

"We are playing teams that sometimes don't qualify for major tournaments. These are teams we would fancy our chances to beat more than Germany or Holland.

"It's a group we can try and get out of, it will be tough but it's a group we can get some confidence from as they are teams on our day we can beat. We have a real determination."