diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/each.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/each.go
index a42a1fd2c80..0ed34e8a475 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/each.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/each.go
@@ -414,8 +414,10 @@ func (evtv eachValTagValidator) GetValidations(context Context, tag codetags.Tag
 	switch nt.Kind {
 	case types.Slice, types.Array:
 		elemContext.Scope = ScopeListVal
+		elemContext.ListSelector = []ListSelectorTerm{} // empty == "all"
 	case types.Map:
 		elemContext.Scope = ScopeMapVal
+		// TODO: We may need map selectors at some point.
 	}
 	if tag.ValueTag == nil {
 		return Validations{}, fmt.Errorf("missing validation tag")
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/item.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/item.go
index 5cd5c9e3b5a..8e67c091b26 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/item.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/item.go
@@ -256,13 +256,15 @@ func (iv itemValidator) GetValidations(context Context) (Validations, error) {
 		}
 
 		// Extract validations from the stored tag
-		subContextPath := generateFieldPathForMap(item.criteria)
+		itemKey := generateFieldPathForMap(item.criteria)
+		itemPath := context.Path.Key(itemKey)
+		itemSelector := generateSelector(item.criteria)
 		subContext := Context{
-			Scope:      ScopeListVal,
-			Type:       elemT,
-			Path:       context.Path.Key(subContextPath),
-			Member:     nil, // NA for list items
-			ParentPath: context.Path,
+			Scope:        ScopeListVal,
+			Type:         elemT,
+			Path:         itemPath,
+			ListSelector: itemSelector,
+			ParentPath:   context.Path,
 		}
 
 		validations, err := iv.validator.ExtractValidations(subContext, item.valueTag)
@@ -409,3 +411,14 @@ func formatValueForPath(value any) string {
 		return fmt.Sprintf("%v", v)
 	}
 }
+
+func generateSelector(criteria []keyValuePair) []ListSelectorTerm {
+	terms := make([]ListSelectorTerm, len(criteria))
+	for i, pair := range criteria {
+		terms[i] = ListSelectorTerm{
+			Field: pair.key,
+			Value: pair.value,
+		}
+	}
+	return terms
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/union.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/union.go
index 998a61bd95c..032c73b93b8 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/union.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/validation-gen/validators/union.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package validators
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"regexp"
 	"slices"
@@ -193,7 +192,7 @@ type union struct {
 	// key is the virtual field path (eg: "<path>/Pipeline.Tasks[{"name": "succeeded"}]"),
 	// value is the parsed matcher map (eg: {"name": "succeeded"}).
 	// Represents union members that are list items matching specific criteria
-	itemMatchers map[string]map[string]any
+	itemMatchers map[string][]ListSelectorTerm
 }
 
 type unionMember struct {
@@ -207,7 +206,8 @@ type unions map[string]*union
 // newUnion initializes a new union instance
 func newUnion() *union {
 	return &union{
-		itemMatchers: make(map[string]map[string]any),
+		// slice fields can be nil
+		itemMatchers: make(map[string][]ListSelectorTerm),
 	}
 }
 
@@ -332,12 +332,12 @@ func createMemberExtractor(ptrType *types.Type, member *types.Member) FunctionLi
 
 // createItemExtractor creates an extractor function for list item union members.
 // It generates code that loops through the list to check if an item matching the criteria exists.
-func createItemExtractor(listType *types.Type, elemType *types.Type, matcher map[string]any) (FunctionLiteral, error) {
+func createItemExtractor(listType *types.Type, elemType *types.Type, matcher []ListSelectorTerm) (FunctionLiteral, error) {
 	var criteria []keyValuePair
-	for key, value := range matcher {
+	for _, term := range matcher {
 		criteria = append(criteria, keyValuePair{
-			key:   key,
-			value: fmt.Sprint(value),
+			key:   term.Field,
+			value: fmt.Sprint(term.Value),
 		})
 	}
 
@@ -354,12 +354,13 @@ func createItemExtractor(listType *types.Type, elemType *types.Type, matcher map
 	extractor := FunctionLiteral{
 		Parameters: []ParamResult{{Name: "list", Type: listType}},
 		Results:    []ParamResult{{Type: types.Bool}},
-		Body: fmt.Sprintf(`for i := range list {
-	if %s {
-		return true
-	}
-}
-return false`, condition),
+		Body: fmt.Sprintf(
+			`for i := range list {
+				if %s {
+					return true
+				}
+			 }
+			 return false`, condition),
 	}
 
 	return extractor, nil
@@ -433,11 +434,13 @@ func processMemberValidations(shared map[string]unions, context Context, tag cod
 	u.fields = append(u.fields, unionMember{fieldName, memberName})
 
 	if context.Scope == ScopeListVal {
-		matcher, err := extractMatcherFromPath(fieldName)
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("failed to extract matcher from path %s: %w", fieldName, err)
+		if context.ListSelector == nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("list-item union member has no list selector in context")
 		}
-		u.itemMatchers[fieldName] = matcher
+		if _, found := u.itemMatchers[fieldName]; found {
+			return fmt.Errorf("list-item union member %q already exists", fieldName)
+		}
+		u.itemMatchers[fieldName] = context.ListSelector
 	} else {
 		u.fieldMembers = append(u.fieldMembers, context.Member)
 	}
@@ -481,18 +484,3 @@ func sanitizeName(name string) string {
 	re := regexp.MustCompile(`[^a-zA-Z0-9_]`)
 	return re.ReplaceAllString(name, "_")
 }
-
-// extractMatcherFromPath extracts the matcher criteria from a path like "Pipeline.Tasks[{"name": "succeeded"}]"
-func extractMatcherFromPath(path string) (map[string]any, error) {
-	re := regexp.MustCompile(`\[({.*?})\]`)
-	matches := re.FindStringSubmatch(path)
-	if len(matches) < 2 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no matcher criteria found in path")
-	}
-
-	var matcher map[string]any
-	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(matches[1]), &matcher); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse matcher JSON: %w", err)
-	}
-	return matcher, nil
-}