Scotland dominated the possession in the early stages, but perhaps feeding off the energy of a subdued Hampden crowd, there was a lack of impetus in the final third.
The visitors took their time to grow into the game, but missed a golden opportunity after 15 minutes when Grant Hanley completely misjudged a simple long ball but Teemu Pukki failed to punish him as his lobbed finish lacked conviction and sailed well over.
The hosts continued to huff and puff in attack while the Fins looked dangerous on the break, and Casper Terho was next to come close after a swift counterattack ended with Angus Gunn being forced to make a diving save.
The HT break gave the hosts a chance to regroup and find their spark, and they almost found a breakthrough instantly when Billy Gilmour plucked the ball out of the sky before firing a volley towards goal, but Viljami Sinisalo was equal to it.
The opener did come after 53 minutes when Andrew Robertson found space on the lift to hammer a ball across the box and Arttu Hoskonen could only watch on in agony as his attempts to clear the ball resulted in it trundling into his own net.
That goal ignited belief in Scotland’s attack as they scored again minutes later.
Robertson was the provider again but this time he measured a cross to the back post and Lawrence Shankland bagged a confidence-boosting goal as he crashed his header home for his third in a Scotland jersey.
The visitors made a series of changes, and they paid off when Oliver Antman’s cross found Benjamin Källman who headed past Craig Gordon.
Gordon’s introduction for a potential farewell appearance backfired as he then conceded a penalty after colliding with Tomas Galvez and Antman kept his cool to tuck home the resultant penalty.
The late fightback will give Finland hope ahead of their Nations League campaign later in the year, while Scotland will need to up their game to have any chance of shocking Germany in their upcoming Euro 2024 opener this day next week.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Andrew Robertson (Scotland)
