diff --git a/e2e/network.go b/e2e/network.go
index d5d0a88bd1..643b5870ca 100644
--- a/e2e/network.go
+++ b/e2e/network.go
@@ -103,11 +103,11 @@ func PortForwardClient(t *testing.T, restConfig *rest.Config, kubeClient client.
 					return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to resolve TCP addr: %w", err)
 				}
 
-				pod, err := getPodByIP(ctx, kubeClient, addr.IP)
+				pod, container, err := PodByAddr(ctx, kubeClient, addr)
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to get pod from IP %s: %w", addr.IP, err)
 				}
-				if err := waitUntilPodReady(ctx, t, restConfig, kubeClient, pod); err != nil {
+				if err := WaitForPodContainerReady(ctx, t, restConfig, kubeClient, pod, container); err != nil {
 					return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed waiting for pod from IP %s: %w", addr.IP, err)
 				}
 				resourceURL := restClient.
diff --git a/e2e/podutils.go b/e2e/podutils.go
index e9f154ce05..ae0e3ab9e6 100644
--- a/e2e/podutils.go
+++ b/e2e/podutils.go
@@ -43,7 +43,41 @@ func containerStateString(state *corev1.ContainerState) string {
 	return "running"
 }
 
-func isPodReady(ctx context.Context, restConfig *rest.Config, pod *corev1.Pod) error {
+func IsPodContainerReady(ctx context.Context, restConfig *rest.Config, pod *corev1.Pod, container string) error {
+	for _, status := range pod.Status.ContainerStatuses {
+		if status.Name == container && !status.Ready {
+			key := client.ObjectKeyFromObject(pod)
+			return fmt.Errorf("pod %s container %s not ready: %s", key, status.Name, containerStateString(&status.State))
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+	key := client.ObjectKeyFromObject(pod)
+	return fmt.Errorf("no container named %s found in pod %s", container, key)
+}
+
+func WaitForPodContainerReady(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, restConfig *rest.Config, kubeClient client.Client, pod *corev1.Pod, container string) error {
+	// Prevent doing an extra API lookup by checking first.
+	var err error
+	if err = IsPodContainerReady(ctx, restConfig, pod, container); err == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	t.Logf("waiting for pod to be ready: %s", err)
+	if waitErr := wait.Poll(2*time.Second, 30*time.Second, func() (done bool, err error) {
+		if err = kubeClient.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKeyFromObject(pod), pod); err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		err = IsPodContainerReady(ctx, restConfig, pod, container)
+		return err == nil, nil
+	}); waitErr != nil {
+		if errors.Is(waitErr, wait.ErrWaitTimeout) {
+			return err
+		}
+		return waitErr
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func IsPodReady(ctx context.Context, restConfig *rest.Config, pod *corev1.Pod) error {
 	var errs []error
 	for _, status := range pod.Status.ContainerStatuses {
 		if !status.Ready {
@@ -54,10 +88,10 @@ func isPodReady(ctx context.Context, restConfig *rest.Config, pod *corev1.Pod) e
 	return errors.Join(errs...)
 }
 
-func waitUntilPodReady(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, restConfig *rest.Config, kubeClient client.Client, pod *corev1.Pod) error {
+func WaitForPodReady(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, restConfig *rest.Config, kubeClient client.Client, pod *corev1.Pod) error {
 	// Prevent doing an extra API lookup by checking first.
 	var err error
-	if err = isPodReady(ctx, restConfig, pod); err == nil {
+	if err = IsPodReady(ctx, restConfig, pod); err == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
 	t.Logf("waiting for pod to be ready: %s", err)
@@ -65,7 +99,7 @@ func waitUntilPodReady(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, restConfig *rest.Confi
 		if err = kubeClient.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKeyFromObject(pod), pod); err != nil {
 			return false, err
 		}
-		err = isPodReady(ctx, restConfig, pod)
+		err = IsPodReady(ctx, restConfig, pod)
 		return err == nil, nil
 	}); waitErr != nil {
 		if errors.Is(waitErr, wait.ErrWaitTimeout) {
@@ -76,7 +110,7 @@ func waitUntilPodReady(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, restConfig *rest.Confi
 	return nil
 }
 
-func getPodByIP(ctx context.Context, kubeClient client.Client, ip net.IP) (*corev1.Pod, error) {
+func PodByIP(ctx context.Context, kubeClient client.Client, ip net.IP) (*corev1.Pod, error) {
 	var pods corev1.PodList
 	if err := kubeClient.List(ctx, &pods, &client.ListOptions{
 		FieldSelector: fields.OneTermEqualSelector("status.podIP", ip.String()),
@@ -88,3 +122,19 @@ func getPodByIP(ctx context.Context, kubeClient client.Client, ip net.IP) (*core
 	}
 	return &pods.Items[0], nil
 }
+
+func PodByAddr(ctx context.Context, kubeClient client.Client, addr *net.TCPAddr) (*corev1.Pod, string, error) {
+	pod, err := PodByIP(ctx, kubeClient, addr.IP)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, "", err
+	}
+	for _, container := range pod.Spec.Containers {
+		for _, port := range container.Ports {
+			if int(port.ContainerPort) == addr.Port {
+				return pod, container.Name, nil
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	key := client.ObjectKeyFromObject(pod)
+	return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("unable to find port %d in pod %s", addr.Port, key)
+}