Record cap holder Shilton, who amassed 125 appearances as he featured in three World Cups and two European championships, believes Manchester City keeper Hart will be in nets in Manaus on June 14 if he maintains his form following a blip earlier in the season.
But he is glad there is competition from West Brom keeper Ben Foster, Celtic's Fraser Forster and John Ruddy of Norwich as England boss Roy Hodgson gets ready to name his provisional 30-man squad on May 13th.
Shilton told Sky Sports News Radio: "Joe's our most experienced keeper. I was a bit surprised to see him have such a bad spell (earlier in the season) and make so many mistakes but he seems to have recovered from that.
"There's still quite a bit of time between now and the World Cup, hopefully it doesn't happen again where he starts making silly errors. But I think obviously that he'll be the first choice if he keeps his form well.
"But it's nice to have Ben Foster back in the frame, because I think technically he's a solid keeper. Roy Hodgson knows him well (from his time at West Brom).
"I think he did well in the England games I've seen him play in and he's going to put a bit of pressure on Joe which I think Joe's needed for a while.
"And obviously we've got Fraser Forster whose had a good season with Celtic and Ruddy at Norwich. So it's going to be interesting but I think it's great to have a bit of competition now."