Shearer reveals he has completely changed his mind on England's World Cup chances

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Alan Shearer admits he's been converted into a believer having originally been sceptical about

England

- and now believes they could win the

World Cup

.

The Three Lions, after a group stage that posed plenty of questions, came up with their best showing to date to beat

Mexico

3-2 at altitude and march into the last eight of the World Cup.

The former striker cited the win in the Azteca as the game that made him - and the nation - go "wow, we can do this" ahead of their quarter-final with

Norway

this weekend.

Thomas Tuchel has continued to showcase the edge he's bought to the England side and his IQ has the Three Lions in the mix to end their 60 year wait for a major tournament. They're favourites to see off

Erling Haaland

and co before a potential semi-finals against old foes

Argentina

- and Shearer concedes the Mexico win has changed his mindset.

He wrote on the

BBC

: "We might actually be able to win this thing. From the fans to the players, that's what everyone must be thinking after England's epic win over Mexico - I know I am - when I genuinely didn't feel that was the case before the game.

"There was hope, of course. There's always hope with England at a major tournament, but that performance has pushed us all further forward and given everyone, including me, confidence and belief too."

Harry Kane

is firmly in the race for the Golden Boot - which would be his second at World Cups after 2018 - whilst

Jude Bellingham

continues to step up after scoring a brace in the win over Mexico.

The pair have continued to be England's go-to men - with the

Bayern Munich

frontman scoring twice in the second half to avoid an upset against

DR Congo

. Shearer insists there's nothing wrong with relying on your leading lights to get you out of a sticky situation.

And the scenes in Mexico City after knocking out the co-hosts was that of a side totally together and Shearer has put it up there are the best collective performance he's even seen from an England team.

He said: "I am 55 and I'd describe that display as the best team performance I've seen from any England side in my lifetime, particularly away from home. I don't think I've ever witnessed togetherness or team spirit like that - to get a result in such a tough scenario. That's how good it was."