Spain coach Julen Lopetegui said it was mission accomplished for his side after seeing them end a "tough and difficult'' week with a place in the World Cup finals, while also praising fans' response to Gerard Pique during the match.
With nearest rivals Italy only able to draw at home to Macedonia, Spain assured first place in Group G after brushing aside Albania 3-0 in the penultimate round of matches.
The result was never in doubt after Rodrigo, Isco and Thiago all scored during a devastating opening 30 minutes from the Spanish, who will now look to complete their group campaign unbeaten when they go to Israel on Monday.
While Friday's victory at Alicante's Jose Rico Perez stadium was ultimately a comfortable one, the build-up to the game was anything but for Spain, with centre-back Pique in the spotlight following last weekend's controversial independence referendum in Catalonia.
The Barcelona defender was jeered and whistled by Spain fans during the week and he received a mixed reception from supporters in Alicante on Friday night.
Much of the talk coming into the match was about Pique and last weekend's events in Catalonia, and Lopetegui hailed the fans who cheered the Barca man upon coming off in the 60th minute.
"The fans have been phenomenal," Lopetegui said after the match. "It starts to put the focus on the positive things in our football and our country.
"It is like when you see a painting and you just look at the speck of dust. We have to celebrate the good things and we have done it in the dressing room, singing and dancing."
Of the result, Lopetegui said in quotes reported by AS: "We've qualified for the World Cup, which was our primary objective.
"It's been a tough and difficult week and fortunately we had a great first half.
"We were very good in the first 30 minutes. The second half I haven't liked so much. When we don't have control we aren't so good.
"Albania are a good team and we knew they were going to come here without anything to lose.
"The best thing about the match has been the commitment, the enthusiasm, the humility and the passion of the players. I want to thank all my players who took part in qualifying, all those who have come and helped us.
"Tomorrow they will have a day off, but we need to then go to Israel to play and compete.''
Pique and David Silva both received yellow cards and will miss Spain's final qualifier next week.
Lopetegui was adamant the suspensions were not planned.
"I have never planned such a thing or prepared to do it. I do not believe in that," Lopetegui said.
"The cards were the result of the game because there were disputes, and we lost control of the game at some point."
Albania boss Christian Panucci, who saw his side hit the post during a second-half purple patch, believes Spain have the capacity to go all the way in Russia next year.
The former Italy international said: "Spain are one of the favourites to win the World Cup because they have experienced players. You've seen their quality. Next to Brazil and Germany, Spain are going to be right there.''
Regarding the game, which saw Albania suffer a fourth defeat in qualifying but remain third in the group, Panucci said: "The first goal was very nice, the other two we could have done better with. Spain's quality in the first half-hour was much better than ours.
"I came to Albania to prepare for the European Championships, but we played a great second half. We created four or five opportunities, which against Spain isn't easy.''