diff --git a/consensus/merge/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/merge/blockcreation/MergeCoordinator.java b/consensus/merge/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/merge/blockcreation/MergeCoordinator.java
index 62a6e123ab8..6d930366c76 100644
--- a/consensus/merge/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/merge/blockcreation/MergeCoordinator.java
+++ b/consensus/merge/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/merge/blockcreation/MergeCoordinator.java
@@ -14,10 +14,8 @@
  */
 package org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.blockcreation;
 
-import static java.util.stream.Collectors.joining;
-import static org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.blockcreation.MergeMiningCoordinator.ForkchoiceResult.Status.INVALID;
-import static org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.trie.diffbased.common.provider.WorldStateQueryParams.withBlockHeaderAndUpdateNodeHead;
-
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import org.apache.tuweni.bytes.Bytes32;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.MergeContext;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.PayloadWrapper;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.datatypes.Address;
@@ -30,14 +28,7 @@
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.chain.BadBlockManager;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.chain.Blockchain;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.chain.MutableBlockchain;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.Block;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.BlockHeader;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.BlockWithReceipts;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.Difficulty;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.MiningConfiguration;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.MutableWorldState;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.Transaction;
-import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.Withdrawal;
+import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.core.*;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.manager.EthScheduler;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.backwardsync.BackwardSyncContext;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.eth.sync.backwardsync.BadChainListener;
@@ -47,6 +38,8 @@
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.ProtocolSchedule;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.trie.MerkleTrieException;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.exception.StorageException;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
 import java.io.StringWriter;
@@ -62,10 +55,9 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
-import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
-import org.apache.tuweni.bytes.Bytes32;
-import org.slf4j.Logger;
-import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+import static java.util.stream.Collectors.joining;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.merge.blockcreation.MergeMiningCoordinator.ForkchoiceResult.Status.INVALID;
+import static org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.trie.diffbased.common.provider.WorldStateQueryParams.withBlockHeaderAndUpdateNodeHead;
 
 /** The Merge coordinator. */
 public class MergeCoordinator implements MergeMiningCoordinator, BadChainListener {
@@ -534,35 +526,35 @@ public Optional<BlockHeader> getOrSyncHeadByHash(final Hash headHash, final Hash
   }
 
   private void updateFinalized(final Hash finalizedHash) {
+    // If finalizedHash is already set, do nothing
     if (mergeContext
         .getFinalized()
         .map(BlockHeader::getHash)
         .map(finalizedHash::equals)
         .orElse(Boolean.FALSE)) {
-      LOG.atDebug()
-          .setMessage("Finalized block already set to {}, nothing to do")
-          .addArgument(finalizedHash)
-          .log();
+            LOG.atDebug()
+            .setMessage("Finalized block already set to {}, nothing to do")
+            .addArgument(finalizedHash)
+            .log();
       return;
     }
 
-    protocolContext
-        .getBlockchain()
-        .getBlockHeader(finalizedHash)
-        .ifPresentOrElse(
-            finalizedHeader -> {
-              LOG.atDebug()
-                  .setMessage("Setting finalized block header to {}")
-                  .addArgument(finalizedHeader::toLogString)
-                  .log();
-              mergeContext.setFinalized(finalizedHeader);
-            },
-            () ->
-                LOG.warn(
-                    "Internal error, backward sync completed but failed to import finalized block {}",
-                    finalizedHash));
+    // Check if the finalized block actually exists in the blockchain
+    Optional<BlockHeader> maybeFinalizedHeader = protocolContext.getBlockchain().getBlockHeader(finalizedHash);
+
+    if (maybeFinalizedHeader.isPresent()) {
+        LOG.atDebug()
+            .setMessage("Setting finalized block header to {}")
+            .addArgument(maybeFinalizedHeader.get()::toLogString)
+            .log();
+
+        mergeContext.setFinalized(maybeFinalizedHeader.get());
+    } else {
+        LOG.warn("Backward sync completed but failed to import finalized block {}", finalizedHash);
+    }
   }
 
+
   @Override
   public BlockProcessingResult validateBlock(final Block block) {
     final var validationResult =